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Two friends from Alberta, both with strong international careers and comparable backgrounds—alumni of prestigious universities and members of the global liberal elite—are in a race against each other. They seek to replace Justin Trudeau as the leader of the Liberal Party and as Prime Minister of Canada. This comes at a time when the country is grappling with a generational crisis due to tariffs and sovereignty threats from the Trump administration.
The Liberal Party's important leadership election has begun with its 400,000 members casting their votes to decide the new era of Canadian politics. The election results will be declared at a special event in Ottawa, the nation's capital, at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. The winner will have to call a general election, which must be held by October but could be sooner.
The candidates in this election are:
<ul>
<li><strong>Mark Carney:</strong> 59-year-old former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, with extensive experience in public and private sectors. He is considered a front-runner.</li>
<li><strong>Chrystia Freeland:</strong> 56-year-old former finance minister, whose resignation triggered Mr. Trudeau's decision to step down. Surveys show that she is well-regarded but has faced criticism for not standing up to Mr. Trudeau when his policies were increasingly unpopular.</li>
<li><strong>Karina Gould:</strong> 37-year-old candidate who is trying to differentiate herself as a more left-leaning politician.</li>
<li><strong>Frank Baylis:</strong> 62-year-old businessman and former member of Parliament, also running in the election.</li>
</ul>
Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney have similar educational backgrounds and work experience, including tenures as finance minister and foreign minister. They both advocate for fiscal discipline but have different plans for the country's future. Chrystia Freeland has campaigned as someone who can stand up to President Trump and renegotiated the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement during Mr. Trump's first term. Mark Carney, on the other hand, has served as senior official in the finance ministry and leader of central banks in Canada and Britain before entering politics.
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