section_path: Campaign
section_name: Campaign
paragraph_text: Campaign
  
  Following Trudeau's announcement, political commentators suggested that several figures were likely candidates: Anita Anand, Mark Carney, François-Philippe Champagne, Christy Clark, Chrystia Freeland, Mélanie Joly and Dominic LeBlanc. Other possible candidates named were Sean Fraser, Karina Gould and Jonathan Wilkinson. Freeland, a leading member of Trudeau's government, had been seen as a "possible heir apparent" as far back as 2021. After her resignation from cabinet, some MPs voiced their support for her to replace Trudeau. LeBlanc, another key member of Trudeau's cabinet and a leadership candidate in 2009, had reportedly been organizing a leadership campaign in April 2024, in the event Trudeau stepped down. Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, had been courted by the party for the leadership in 2012, and had been rumoured as a star candidate in the 2021 election. In November 2024, Carney did not rule out a future leadership bid. Clark, the premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017, had called on Trudeau to step down on multiple occasions since 2022, and in October 2024, publicly expressed interest in leading the party. Anand, Champagne and Joly were also widely believed to harbour leadership ambitions.
  
  The same day as Trudeau's announcement, Frank Baylis announced his intention to run for leader. Baylis, the MP for Pierrefonds—Dollard from 2015 to 2019, had publicly mulled a leadership run since June 26, 2024, after the party lost the Toronto—St. Paul's by-election. On January 9, Chandra Arya, MP for Nepean, announced his leadership bid.
  
  In an interview on January 10 with CBC Radio 's The House, Clark confirmed she was seriously considering running for the leadership. Addressing her endorsement of Jean Charest in the 2022 Conservative leadership election, Clark claimed to have only done so to oppose Pierre Poilievre, and insisted she had never actually been a member of the Conservative Party. Following the interview, a spokesman from the Conservative Party provided a screenshot of their records showing that Clark had been a member; Clark responded, saying she had "misspoke". Four days later, on January 14, Clark announced she would not run for leader, citing the short length of the race and insufficient French.
  
  On January 13, Jaime Battiste, MP for Sydney—Victoria, announced his campaign. If elected, Battiste, who is Mi'kmaw, would have become the first Indigenous prime minister. Though he acknowledged his bid was a longshot, he hoped it would inspire other Indigenous people and pave the way for future candidates. Battiste was also motivated by Fraser declining to run, and hoped to be a voice for the Atlantic provinces in the contest.
  
  On January 14, it was reported that Gould was preparing a leadership bid. Gould was the incumbent government house leader and had previously headed several ministries.
  
  Carney announced his candidacy on January 16. Freeland announced her candidacy on January 17. Gould announced her candidacy on January 18. Former MP Ruby Dhalla announced her campaign on January 24.
  
  On January 25, Arya was disqualified by the party. Arya did not elaborate on why the party had disqualified him. In a response to media inquiries, a Liberal Party spokesman cited a section of the party rules that state a candidate can be barred if a vetting committee finds a candidate "manifestly unfit for the office of Leader of the Party", but did not elaborate on what specifically were the disqualifying factors.
  
  By January 27, the remaining six prospective candidates were approved by the party.
  
  On January 30, Jamie Battiste withdrew his candidacy after failing to raise the second instalment of $50,000. He endorsed Mark Carney.
  
  On February 21, Dhalla was disqualified by the party due to multiple allegations of irregularities in her campaign. Dhalla denied the allegations and appealed the verdict. Her appeal was rejected by the party on February 24.
  
  The French and English debates took place on February 24 and 25 respectively. Both debates covered four themes but primarily focused on US–Canada relations. During the French debate, while talking about the Gaza–Israel conflict, Mark Carney misspoke by saying "We agree with Hamas" instead of "We agree about Hamas". Conservatives were quickly critical, but he was largely defended by Liberals.
  
  The day after the debates were over, the party allowed members to start voting. There were complaints about some of the party membership having issues with the online voting system.