Freeland says she'd invite Carney to be finance minister if she wins Liberal leadership
Former deputy PM says Liberals should choose a 'proven political leader'
Liberal leadership hopeful Chrystia Freeland says she wants her rival — former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney — to join her cabinet if she wins the contest on Sunday and becomes prime minister.
"When I win, I will invite Mark to serve as finance minister," Freeland told reporters after a campaign event in Vaughan, Ont. "I think we'll make a great team."
The former finance minister said Canada needs a prime minister "who has a seat in the House of Commons" and "has experience as a political decision-maker in a crisis," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose massive tariffs on Canada.
Should Carney win the Liberal leadership race, he would become the first person to become prime minister who's never held elected office.
Freeland touted her past work in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet to make the case she's best equipped to take on Trump. In the past, she managed the international trade, foreign affairs and intergovernmental affairs portfolios.
"So I think the ideal combination is to have me as a battle-tested, proven political leader with a senior minister," Freeland said.
Freeland also promised to convene premiers and business and union leaders as her first act if she becomes prime minister. She suggested she would let them decide whether she calls a federal election.
"If I hear from the premiers, from business leaders and from union leaders: 'We want you to govern. We need a united Canada right now that can stand up to that tariff threat.' Then that is the approach I will take," she said.
If Freeland becomes Liberal leader and prime minister, she would still have to face Parliament later this month. Opposition parties have pledged to bring down the government through a vote of non-confidence.
Trump's 'economic warfare'
Freeland also blasted Trump's tariffs on Wednesday and described them as "illegal and unjustified" — echoing Trudeau's language from Tuesday when he staunchly criticized Trump's decision and announced Canada's countermeasures.
"We need to be…. Absolutely clear this is economic warfare. We need to be absolutely clear that our sovereignty is not up for negotiation," Freeland said.
The former finance minister also said Canada needs to speak directly to Americans and tell them "how dumb this tariff war is, how self-mutilating it is for Americans."
Carney told reporters at a campaign event in Calgary on Tuesday that Canada is "in a trade war, clearly. We didn't ask for this war, it was started by the Americans."
Canada's response starts with the countermeasures Trudeau announced Tuesday, Carney said. The federal government has levied counter-tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, with possibly more to be added.
Trudeau also said that Trump's trade war is designed to collapse the Canadian economy and make it easier to annex Canada. When asked for his perspective on Trump's actions, Carney said if those are the president's intentions, "he will not succeed."
"What I am finding on the ground across Canada is Canadians are determined, they're united, they have resolve, they want positive change, they want to move forward. And that's what we're offering to them."
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