Fresh from launching her Liberal leadership bid, Karina Gould suggested the records of her two main opponents would do little to curry favor with US President-elect Donald Trump.
“I’m not sure journalists and central bankers are the kind of people Donald Trump listens to,” the Ontario MP said in an interview broadcast Sunday on the CBC show. rosemary barton live.
Gould’s former cabinet colleague Chrystia Freeland worked as a journalist and editor at several news organizations, including the Financial Times and Reuters, before entering politics. Mark Carney was governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.
The race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced nearly two weeks ago that he would step aside once a successor is chosen, is heating up just as Trump prepares to take office on Monday.
Trump has threatened to impose a blanket 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, a move that economists and lawmakers have warned would be devastating to the Canadian economy.
Gould, who officially launched his campaign on Saturday, said Canada needs someone “strong, not afraid to stand up to bullies.”
“If you give a bully your lunch money, they keep asking you for your lunch money. They come back for more and try to extort you,” he told host Rosemary Barton.
Burlington MP says Liberals are out of step with Canadians
Asked about his economic bona fides against Carney and Freeland, who until recently was the country’s finance minister, Gould said he believes people are “looking for someone who understands what they’re going through.”
“I’ll be very honest with you… Canadians don’t trust the Liberal Party of Canada right now,” she said. “We’ve gotten further away from the grassroots and talking about the things that matter to Canadians.”
Gould has held a number of cabinet positions, most recently as leader of the government’s House of Representatives, but said he will step aside from cabinet to focus on his career.
He suggested that his political ideas “might not necessarily align” with the party’s situation.
Liberal leadership candidate and Ontario MP Karina Gould tells CBC News senior political correspondent Rosemary Barton that the party has moved away from the issues that concern Canadians.
When it comes to one of the government’s signature environmental policies, the carbon consumption tax, Gould suggested it would replace the unpopular program.
“What I want to do is make sure that we are helping Canadians make the decisions they want,” Gould said, while teasing that he would have more to say later about his platform on climate change.
“What I understand about Canadians is that they care about climate change, they care about reducing their emissions and they are looking for ways to help achieve that, but in a way that is more affordable.”
If successful, the 37-year-old would become the youngest prime minister in Canadian history.
“It’s definitely an advantage,” he said of his age.
“What I hear from people all over the country is that they are looking for something new, they are looking for new energy and they are looking for someone who will be here not only today but also tomorrow and for the long term.”
The Liberals will elect the next prime minister on March 9
First elected in Burlington, Ont., in 2015, Gould was promoted to a cabinet position two years later, taking on the democratic institutions portfolio after Trudeau abandoned his promise to implement electoral reform.
She made history by becoming the first federal cabinet minister to take maternity leave, after giving birth to her son Oliver in 2018. She gave birth to her daughter Taya almost a year ago.
Gould took on the families, children and social development portfolio after the 2021 election, where she was tasked with handling the political mess of backlogged passport applications.
He also helped implement the national child care program, which he called one of his proudest moments in office.
“I have helped Canadians save thousands of dollars a year to ensure their children are well cared for,” said Gould.
The Liberal Party announced that it will elect its next leader (and, by extension, Canada’s next prime minister) on March 9. Applicants have until January 23 to declare their candidacy. People can register with the party to vote in the leadership race until January 27.
Three other candidates — Cape Breton, N.S., MP Jaime Battiste, Ottawa MP Chandra Arya and Montreal businessman Frank Baylis — have also said they are running for the top Liberal job.
