Freeland calls on candidates to agree to 4 debates ahead of Liberal leadership vote

Former Finance Minister and Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland has released an open letter calling for four debates ahead of the vote for the new leader on March 9.

“We must show Canadians that we, as a Party, are up to the task of defeating Pierre Poilievre … Canadians deserve to see us debate our ideas and the path forward for our Party and our country without delay,” read the letter.

The letter calls for two debates in each language “as soon as possible.”

Freeland once again called on all leadership hopefuls to run as a Liberal candidate in the next election, no matter the outcome of the leadership race.

“By committing to be a part of this team for the long haul, we can show Canadians that we’re not in this for ourselves – we’re in it for them.”

She has said she will run again as an MP regardless of whether she wins the leadership race.

Freeland’s biggest opponent is expected to be former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney, who has received endorsements from several high-profile Liberal MPs, with at least eight current or former cabinet ministers in his corner now, including Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan.

At least 20 other Liberal MPs have backed Carney at this point.

Freeland has the backing of more than a dozen backbench Liberal MPs and at least seven current or former cabinet ministers, including Health Minister Mark Holland, Justice Minister Arif Virani, Citizens Services Minister Terry Beech, and Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier.

House Leader Karina Gould, MP Chandra Arya and MP Jamie Battiste have also entered the race to replace Trudeau. Frank Baylis, Michael Clark, and Ruby Dhalla are the candidates who are not currently in office and are running as well.

The Liberals will choose a new leader on March 9 to replace Trudeau, who announced his resignation earlier this month following immense pressure from his caucus.