Chrystia Freeland to run for leader of Canada's Liberal Party

Former Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland intends to run to lead the country's governing Liberal Party.

In a statement posted on Friday to X, formerly known as Twitter, Freeland expressed her intention to run and said she would hold a formal campaign launch in the coming days.

"I'm running to fight for Canada," she wrote.

Freeland recently fell out with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the direction of the country's financial policies. Her resignation from her post in December was a blow to Trudeau's already-shaky hold on the Canadian government, helping to usher in his own resignation after nine years as prime minister.

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Freeland had long been one of Trudeau's closest allies in his Liberal Party. She held the key role of Canada's finance minister starting in 2020 - the first woman to hold the position - and helped to lead the country through the pandemic and its aftermath.

The two disagreed on how to address US President-elect Donald Trump's threat of tariffs, among other financial policies as Canada faced a C$60b deficit ($42bn; £33bn).

Following his win in November, Trump, who takes office on Monday, suggested that he would impose potential 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.

In a public resignation letter, Freeland criticised Trudeau's leadership, denounced his use of "costly political gimmicks" and said Canada must push "back against 'America First' economic nationalism".

Freeland further addressed Trump's tariff threats in a piece she penned on Friday for the Toronto Star newspaper, arguing that Canada "must take President Trump at his word."

"Florida orange growers, Michigan dishwasher manufacturers and Wisconsin dairy farmers: brace yourselves," she wrote, arguing that Canada should retaliate hurts if Trump imposes his promised 25% tariffs.

With Trudeau stepping down, his party must now find a new leader to compete in a general election. Liberals will vote for their new leader on 9 March.

Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney announced his run on Thursday. Freeland had been expected to run against him in seeking the party's top position.

The two already have received endorsements from a handful of Liberal MPs.

Born to a Ukrainian mother in the western province of Alberta, the 56-year-old, who attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, was a journalist before entering politics.

She entered the House of Commons in 2013, representing a central Toronto riding, and two years later joined Trudeau's cabinet with a trade brief after he swept the party to power.

Freeland has been credited with helping renegotiate the free trade agreement with Canada, the US and Mexico during Trump's first term in office, in talks that were often described as tense.

After her resignation in December, Trump referred to her as "toxic" in a post on Truth Social, and remarked that "she will not be missed."

If Freeland wins the Liberal Party leadership, she would face-off with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party is leading in national polls, in the next general election.

On Friday morning, Poilievre released a video highlighting her partnership with Trudeau over the years under his government. "She's just like Justin," the Conservative leader said.

The next Canadian general election must be held on or before October of this year, and could come as early as this spring.