Dominic LeBlanc will not be running for leadership of the federal Liberal party.
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would be stepping down on Monday, people have been speculating as to who might step forward to run for the top spot in the governing party. LeBlanc’s name has been on many lists, but today the MP and finance minister officially took himself out of the running, with a statement released on social media.
LeBlanc thanked people who had reached out to him to support his possible candidacy, but ultimately said he would remain as minister of finance and intergovernmental affairs in order to “make the case against the unjust application of tarifs on Canadian businesses and workers to the incoming Trump administration.”
LeBlanc also said he would be running in the next election (which could happen anytime from May to October this year) for the riding of Beauséjour, where he’s been MP since 2000.
Here’s the full text of LeBlanc’s statement:
Statement from the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc. PC KC MP
“While I am extremely grateful for the encouragement and the expressions of support I have received from caucus colleagues and Liberals across the country, I have decided not to be a candidate in the Liberal Party of Canada’s upcoming leadership race.
Your kindness has touched me more than you can imagine, and I am enormously grateful to each and every one of you.
Serving Canadians is an immense privilege – and at a moment when Canada is at a crucial juncture in its relationship with its most important ally and trading partner, the United States, I firmly believe that at this time, the best way for me to serve our country is to direct my full attention to my job as Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs – working together with Cabinet colleagues, Premiers, other party leaders, business and union leaders to make the case against the unjust application of tarifs on Canadian businesses and workers to the incoming Trump administration.
The threat these tariffs pose to our nation’s economic well-being and to the livelihood of a countless number of Canadian families cannot be understated – and as such, it requires nothing less than my full attention.
I look forward to running as a candidate under a new Liberal Leader in the next federal election, and to asking the people of Beauséjour to renew their confidence in me as their Member of Parliament, as they have so graciously done over the last eight federal elections.”
