Canada’s Liberal Party to elect new leader soon: Details
Photo: Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (Getty Images)
The name of Justin Trudeau's successor as Prime Minister is likely to be known by March. To achieve this, elections must take place for a new leader of the ruling Liberal Party, according to the political scientist and vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Dmytro Sherengovskyi.
Sherengovskyi noted that Canada's Governor General Mary Simon has allowed Trudeau to continue his government’s mandate until the end of March. Meanwhile, preliminary reports suggest that the main opposition parties have agreed to give the Liberal Party the opportunity to hold elections for a new leader and not issue a vote of no confidence in the government.
"If this is true, and the parties indeed do not plan to issue a vote of no confidence now, during the first parliamentary session scheduled for January 27, then all these election procedures must take place within February and March. That means they realistically have about a month and a half to complete everything," the expert clarified.
According to Sherengovskyi, the candidates for prime minister are:
-
The current Minister of Finance, Dominic LeBlanc;
- Former Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland;
- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly;
- Former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney, who is not a member of the Liberal Party but is close to Trudeau.
The expert did not rule out the possibility of early parliamentary elections in Canada in the spring of next year. This could happen if several opposition parties vote for a no-confidence motion against the government.
"In the case of the Conservatives (the main opposition party - ed.), they do not have enough votes to issue a no-confidence motion. Much will depend on the Bloc Québécois, whose stance is still somewhat predictable but leans toward issuing a no-confidence motion, as well as on the New Democrats (New Democratic Party - ed.)," Sherengovskyi noted.
He explained that the situation would depend on the new leader of the Liberals, particularly on whether they can reach an agreement with the New Democrats. Party ratings will also play a significant role.
Trudeau resigns
As a reminder, yesterday, January 6, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he plans to resign after his Liberal Party elects a new leader.
More details about who might succeed him and what this means for Ukraine – in the RBC-Ukraine article.
