“While I am extremely grateful for the encouragement and the expressions of support I have received from caucus colleagues and Liberals across the country, I have decided not to be a candidate in the Liberal Party of Canada’s upcoming leadership race,” LeBlanc said in a Jan. 8 statement.
LeBlanc said that with Canada being at a “critical juncture” in its relationship with the United States, he believes the best way he can serve is in his roles as finance minister and minister of intergovernmental affairs. Incoming President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada, and in recent days has escalated his rhetoric about Canada becoming the “51st” U.S. state.
“The threat these tariffs pose to our nation’s economic well-being and to the livelihood of a countless number of Canadian families cannot be understated, and as such, it requires nothing less than my full attention,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc said he will still seek re-election as a member of Parliament under a new Liberal leader in the next federal election campaign this year.
LeBlanc has been a key minister in the Liberal government, having held eight different portfolios throughout his time in the Trudeau cabinet. He served as minister of public safety and democratic institutions from July 2023 to December 2024, when he was shuffled to the role of finance minister after the resignation of Chrystia Freeland.
Back in October 2008, LeBlanc was also the first candidate to announce he was seeking leadership of the Liberal Party to replace Stéphane Dion, but announced he was dropping out two months later to support Michael Ignatieff.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that
he would be stepping down as prime minister once the Liberal Party had chosen a replacement for leader. He also went to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to ask her to prorogue Parliament until March 24, which she granted.
The Liberal Party has less than two months to pick a new leader in an accelerated race. So far, only former Liberal MP and businessman Frank Baylis has publicly announced his intention to run. Other candidates who have expressed interest or whose names have been mentioned as possible contenders include former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne, former B.C. Premier Christy Clark, and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said during a cabinet scrum on Jan. 8 that she was still reflecting on whether she will run for leader, as she is weighing factors such as Trump’s tariff threats and her family.
