The Liberal party will announce its new leader on March 9 and will restrict voting eligibility to citizens and permanent residents as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to step down.
The party’s national board of directors met Thursday evening to decide on the initial rules of the Liberal leadership contest that will choose Trudeau’s successor.
According to a press release from the Liberal party, the voting will conclude on March 9 and the new leader will be announced on the same day.
Party members have until Jan. 23 to enter their name in the leadership race. The entry fee is $350,000.
The cut-off date to become a member or registered supporter and be eligible to vote is Jan. 27.
The board also updated the requirements for who can vote in this leadership contest. Eligible voters must:
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- be at least 14 years of age
- support the purposes of the party
- be a Canadian citizen, have status under the Indian Act, or be a permanent resident of Canada
- not be a member of any other federal political party in Canada; and
- while registered as a Liberal, not have publicly declared an intention to be a candidate for election to the House of Commons other than as a candidate of the party
After facing growing calls to resign, Trudeau announced on Monday that he will step down as the Liberal leader and the prime minister after the party chooses a successor.
“This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” Trudeau said.
Parliament has been prorogued until March 24 to allow the Liberal party to hold a leadership contest.
Ontario Liberal MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal MP Frank Baylis are the only two candidates who have officially declared they are in the running.
Baylis announced within hours of Trudeau’s announcement Jan. 6 and Arya jumped in on Thursday morning, though both announced before the $350,000 entrance fee was announced — an increase from the $75,000 to enter into previous leadership races.
Several cabinet ministers are considering putting their names in the hat, including Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, House Leader Karina Gould and Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon are also mulling it over, the Canadian Press reported.
Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, who resigned from the cabinet last month, is considering entering the race, that report said.
A major figure in cabinet who said he was not going to run for Liberal leader is Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
LeBlanc said on Wednesday he was going to focus his full attention to his job as finance minister and minister of intergovernmental affairs to coordinate a federal response to the threat of tariffs from an incoming Donald Trump administration in the United States.
The new Liberal leader will become prime minister for as long as the party remains the current government, and would lead the party into the next election.
— with files from The Canadian Press
