Who will be the next leader of the federal Liberal Party?
University of Prince Edward Island Political Science Professor Don Desserud didn’t anticipate there would be so much speculated interest.
“When there is not a lot of interest, that’s usually a sign that the party’s fortunes are on the decline. When there’s a lot of interest, there’s the opposite. I would not have thought that people looking for this job are optimistic about the state of the Liberal Party for the next election,” Desserud says.
He adds what usually happens if you are the Leader of a major party and they lose an election, the expectation is they step aside.
“So anyone who takes over the Liberal Party right now is looking at the next election and looking at those polling numbers, and they’re going to have to decide, what are they going to do if, if the disaster scenario that is being predicted really takes place,” Desserud says.
The Liberal Party Association is expected to meet this week to start the process of finding a new Leader. Desserud says it’s tough to make predictions on who will be the next leader because it will depend on whether Liberal delegates are voting for someone who can salvage the party or someone who is well-known and is attractive to the voters for the upcoming election.
He adds though that many will be associated with Justin Trudeau and labelled with carrying ‘Trudeau baggage’.
Some of the speculated contenders for the Liberal leadership include Chrystia Freeland, Mark Carney, Melanie Joly, Francois Phillippe Champagne, Anita Anand and Christy Clark.
Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc confirmed on Wednesday on social media, he will not be entering the race.
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