‘He’s our best bet’: several Liberal MPs urging Finance Minister LeBlanc to rethink decision not to seek Liberal leadership

A number of Liberal MPs are urging newly-minted Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc to reconsider his decision not to seek the party's top job, with Liberal MP Judy Sgro leading the charge by starting a "draft Dominic" movement. “I'm doing everything I can to try to reconsider,” said Sgro (Humber River-Black Creek, Ont.) in an interview with The Hill Times. “The support he has in caucus, he's highly respected amongst all of caucus—and I think of a lot of Canadians—and I can't think of a better leader right now.” Meanwhile, Liberal sources told The Hill Times that, unless there's a major surprise, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is expected to officially launch his leadership campaign next week. According to sources, former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan and Liberal MP George Chahal (Calgary Skyview, Alta.) are set to announce their endorsements in the next few days. Also, a source close to Carney said that about 30 MPs have agreed to support the former Bank of Canada governor's campaign. An MP who has pledged support for Carney said that they would let the campaign decide when to announce their endorsement, allowing the campaign to strategically build momentum. Sources say Mark Carney is expected to enter the leadership race next week. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia The Liberals held a special five-hour national caucus meeting on Jan. 8 on the Hill where MPs discussed a number of issues, most importantly the leadership process to find a successor for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.). After increasing caucus pressure to step down, Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he would not be leading the party in the next election. Liberal Party President Sachit Mehra attended the meeting but left the caucus room without speaking to the media. Liberal sources told The Hill Times that Mehra gave a presentation to the caucus outlining the party board's preparations for the leadership election. He explained that, in accordance with the party's constitution, the board has established two committees: the Leadership Expense Committee and the Leadership Vote Committee. These committees will focus on creating rules and addressing financial matters related to the leadership election. Four caucus members—two MPs on each committee—will participate in this process. The MPs anticipate finalizing the rules by the upcoming weekend. They also shared their input on the rules with the party president, and Mehra assured them that the committees will take their suggestions into consideration. Liberal MP Judy Sgro says she wants Dominic LeBlanc to run for the Liberal leadership. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Right before the start of the caucus meeting, LeBlanc (Beauséjour, N.B.)—who was seen as one of the leading candidates for the Liberal leadership—issued a press release saying he would not be running for the leadership. LeBlanc said he was “grateful for the encouragement” and support but his focus was on the Canada-U.S. relationship. He noted it’s at “a crucial juncture” ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of Donald Trump, with the incoming U.S. president threatening a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports. Since Trump’s early November presidential election win, LeBlanc has travelled to Florida twice to meet with Trump and his top advisers. Before the start of the caucus meeting, LeBlanc repeated that rationale and said, after “sleeping on it” last night, he arrived at the decision that he needed to focus on his role as finance and intergovernmental affairs minister. “It’s a full time job. I’m lucky to have it,” he said. Several other Liberal MPs echoed Sgro's assessment, including Jennifer O’Connell (Pickering-Uxbridge, Ont.), Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, Ont.), Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre, Ont.), Stephane Lauzon (Argenteuil-La Petite-Nation, Que.) and Joël Lightbound (Louis-Hébert, Que.). “Dominic has incredible political sense, but more than that, he understands his country, he understands what Canadians are facing, and he's real,” said O’Connell. “He talks like a real person, he understands the real issues that people are facing, and he knows how to bring solutions, and so I think he has exactly what it takes," she said. "I think he's going to stand up for Canada in dealing with the U.S. or anybody else, and that's why I think he's our best bet.” Liberal MP Jennifer O'Connell says LeBlanc has 'incredible political sense' and understands Canadians. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade After the caucus meeting, LeBlanc did not talk to reporters and went inside the House Chamber with some MPs. Sgro, however, said that LeBlanc is highly respected amongst colleagues and she can’t think of a better leader for the party. She said that she "beat him up" enough as to why he decided not to seek the leadership without consulting his supporters. “If we can get a draft Dominic movement, it just may happen,” said Sgro. “I'm doing what I can within caucus .” Liberal MP Stéphane Lauzon also says he wants LeBlanc to run for Liberal leader. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade LeBlanc is one of several other ministers seeking the Liberal leadership. They include: Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice–Champlain, Que.), Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic–Cartierville, Que.), Transport Minister Anita Anand (Oakville, Ont.), Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon (Gatineau, Que.), Government House Leader Karina Gould (Burlington, Ont.) and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver, B.C.). Former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland and Carney have been making calls to Liberal MPs to gauge the level of support for their own respective potential campaigns. Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark has also been considering to run for the leadership. So far, businessman and former Montreal Liberal MP Frank Baylis is the only declared candidate. As of this afternoon, the party was still finalizing the leadership rules. Several individuals have stated they will officially announce their candidacy once the rules are released. Meanwhile, incumbent ministers are waiting to determine whether they can participate in the leadership race without resigning from their Cabinet positions, in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest. By press time, the Prime Minister's Office and the Liberal Party headquarters did not say if cabinet ministers will be allowed to run without resigning from the Cabinet. The Ethics Commissioner's office told The Hill Times that the Conflict of Interest Act for MPs does not prohibit ministers from running in a leadership election. However, the office offers guidance to ministers and parliamentary secretaries on individual cases to help them avoid any potential conflicts of interest. "Our advisors and the Commissioner give them non-partisan, confidential advice, tailored to their personal situation, to help them avoid conflict of interest situations," said Michael Wrobel, a spokesperson for the office, said in an email to The Hill Times. "There is nothing in either of these regimes that specifically addresses candidacy for or nominations in a political party." Liberal MP Joël Lightbound says LeBlanc is the type of leader that Liberals need. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Ministers consider leadership bids Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon, pictured on Jan. 8, 2024, says he's 'absolutely considering' a run for Liberal leadership. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade In a scrum with reporter, MacKinnon said he is “absolutely considering” whether to run in the Liberal leadership race. “I think it’s important we have a candidate who understands the whole country,” said MacKinnon, adding the next leader should be able “to communicate their ideas in every region” and be fluently bilingual. Champagne said he is “seriously considering” running to become the next Liberal leader but he’s waiting on the rules. The Hill Times previously reported that the Liberal Party has not said whether leadership candidates would need to resign from cabinet in order to run. “We’ll see what the rules are, and then we’ll have more to say in the coming days,” said Champagne, who said the party must “present a vision of a country that can win in the 21st century, an economic vision, a vision of hope--and certainly that’s something that I’ve been thinking for a long time.” Wilkinson told reporters he’s speaking with his family about running, but noted that his conversations with colleagues are important for him to gauge his chances. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson says he needs to determine whether he has 'sufficient' support before deciding whether to run. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade “I want to ensure that I have a sufficient amount of support to be competitive in the race if I'm going to enter it. But I do think I have some important things to say,” he said. Joly said she is reflecting on the decision with her team of advisers, and considering the context of Canada’s tenuous relationship with the United States at the moment. Asked what she’s factoring when making that choice, Joly replied simply: “Everything,” before adding she must think about her family, her efforts to become a mother, and defending Canada’s interests with the incoming Trump administration. “This is something I'm not only very concerned about, but always we have to be very ready because the threat of tariffs is real.” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly speaks with reporters before the Liberal party caucus meeting in West Block on Jan. 8, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade When Trump speaks, Joly said “we need to listen, and we need to take him very seriously. I never take his threats lightly. At the same time, we can’t take the bait.” Joly said Canada as a people and economy is strong, and “we’ll never back down.” —with files from Samantha Wright Allen arana@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

‘He’s our best bet’: several Liberal MPs urging Finance Minister LeBlanc to rethink decision not to seek Liberal leadership

Barring a major surprise, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is expected to launch his campaign next week, according to sources, with former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan expected to be among his early endorsements.

Health misinformation is hurting patients and undermining trust. Let’s do something about it.

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Follow us

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Get free news updates

Submit a guest opinion article

‘He’s our best bet’: several Liberal MPs urging Finance Minister LeBlanc to rethink decision not to seek Liberal leadership

Barring a major surprise, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is expected to launch his campaign next week, according to sources, with former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan expected to be among his early endorsements.

Become a Political Insider