Who can replace Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party?

Justin Trudeau’s nine years as Canada’s prime minister are coming to an end after he announced he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberal Party.

It means his party must now find a new leader – and likely a prime minister – to contest a general election in which polls show it is heading for defeat.

Here are some of the people expected to enter the Liberal leadership race.

The Toronto MP is seen as one of the frontrunners to replace the outgoing leader and has become one of the most prominent members of Trudeau’s team.

Although she has long been seen as a trusted senior figure in his inner circle, a rift with the Prime Minister’s Office led to her recent sudden resignation in December.

Her criticism of Trudeau in a public announcement of his resignation increased the pressure on him and made his departure inevitable.

The 56-year-old Ukrainian-born woman in the western province of Alberta was a journalist before entering politics.

She entered the House of Commons in 2013 and joined Trudeau’s cabinet two years later with a commercial record after he led the party to power.

As foreign affairs minister, she helped Canada renegotiate a free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico.

She was later appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance – the first woman to hold that position – and oversaw Canada’s financial response to the Covid pandemic.

After leaving office last month, she criticized Trudeau for not being tough enough on Donald Trump’s threat to impose US tariffs on Canadian goods.

A 2019 Globe and Mail profile said that, depending on who you asked, Freeland is either the last, best hope for a liberal world order or an out-of-touch idealist.

Her staunch support for Ukraine has won praise in some quarters, but the Harvard-educated lawmaker has had her share of critics, including Trump, who recently called her “toxic.”

Trudeau himself admitted that he had long been trying to recruit Mark Carney, most recently as finance minister, to his team.

“He would be a great addition at a time when Canadians need good people to step up in politics,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO conference in July 2024.

Carney, 59, who has served as a special adviser to Trudeau in recent months, has long been considered a contender for the top job.

The Harvard graduate has never held public office, but has a strong economic background, having served at the top of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.

He also brings with him environmental expertise through his role as the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Climate Action, recently calling the goal of net zero “the greatest commercial opportunity of our time.”

Carney is a proponent of some Liberal policies that have been unpopular in the country’s conservative circles, such as the federal carbon tax, the party’s signature climate policy, which critics say is a financial burden on Canadians.

He has also already criticized Pierre Pouilleau, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, saying his vision for the country’s future is “without a plan” and “only slogans.”

“I’m the one in the conversation who’s actually been in the business, who’s actually doing the business and making the decisions,” he said.

Anand is often touted as one of the most ambitious members of the Liberal caucus.

The 57-year-old lawyer burst onto the political scene in 2019 when she was elected to represent Oakville, near Toronto.

The Oxford-educated academic has experience in financial market regulation and corporate governance.

She was immediately awarded a ministerial directive for public services and procurement, putting her in charge of a mission to provide vaccines and personal protective equipment during the Covid pandemic.

Anand was then appointed defense minister in 2021, leading Canada’s efforts to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia and overseeing a personnel crisis in the Canadian Armed Forces, mired in sexual misconduct scandals.

When Anand was removed from that department to oversee the Treasury Board, many saw it as a demotion, with Trudeau’s critics going so far as to suggest it was punishment for her ambitions to one day lead the party.

In December, during the cabinet reshuffle, she was again transferred to the positions of Minister of Transport and Minister of Internal Trade.

The former businessman and international trade specialist is another Liberal minister who is said to be eyeing a top job in the party.

But his journey up the corporate ladder to the top portfolio was slower than Anand’s.

Champagne, 54, joined the House of Commons in 2015 but has since moved through international trade, foreign affairs and most recently innovation, science and industry.

But there are a few things working in its favor. Champagne comes from Quebec, a province whose vote has often been decisive in Canadian federal elections.

He’s also been called Canada’s “Energizer Bunny” by some pundits, who have watched his enthusiasm travel the world as part of his innovation portfolio with a mission to sell everything made in Canada.

And because of his business acumen, political observers see him as a viable option to lure centrist liberals back.

Like Trudeau, Jolie represents the Montreal riding.

For foreign leaders, the 45-year-old is a familiar face, representing Canada on the world stage from 2021.

As the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, she visited Ukraine several times as a sign of support for Canada. She was traveling to Jordan to help evacuate Canadian citizens in the region when the Israel-Hamas war broke out.

Jolie has also been at the center of some of the government’s biggest foreign policy challenges, including the diplomatic crisis sparked by the alleged assassination by Indian agents of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil.

The Oxford-educated lawyer is a well-connected French-speaking politician who previously ran for mayor of Montreal.

She was personally nominated by Trudeau to run for federal political office.

“He would call me periodically and say, ‘Melanie, you need to run, we want you to run,'” Jolie said.

Senior advisers hailed her ability to work in a room of seven or 700 people, and she had long intended to run for Liberal Party leader, close friends told Canada’s Macleans magazine.

LeBlanc, 57, is one of Trudeau’s closest and most trusted allies.

Their friendship runs deep: LeBlanc even babysat Trudeau and his siblings when they were young.

He has a track record of stepping into portfolios at difficult times, including becoming finance minister hours after Freeland’s stunning resignation.

LeBlanc also took on the daunting task of accompanying Trudeau to Mar-a-Lago in November for a meeting with Trump.

The former lawyer has been a parliamentarian for more than two decades, first elected in 2000 to represent the riding of New Brunswick Atlantic Province.

Like Trudeau, LeBlanc was born into a political family. His father served as a minister in the cabinet of Trudeau’s legendary father, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and was later the Governor General of Canada.

LeBlanc has shown previous ambitions to lead the party, running in 2008 but losing to Michael Ignatiev. He did not run again in the next leadership race, which was won by Trudeau.

He is in remission from cancer treatment and is known as an affable and strong political communicator.

The former premier of British Columbia has expressed interest in throwing her hat into the Liberal leadership.

In a statement in October, she said she would “like to be part of the conversation about the future direction of the Liberal Party and the country” if Trudeau steps down.

Clarke, 59, served as the leader of Canada’s westernmost province from 2011 to 2017, where she built a reputation for her ability to balance environmental priorities while developing B.C.’s energy industry.

She has repeatedly said in interviews over the past couple of years that Trudeau has become an obstacle for the federal Liberals.

She also reportedly took French lessons, according to broadcaster Radio-Canada. Fluency in French is considered a prerequisite for federal politicians in Canada.