The new Liberal leader will likely call an election in the next two weeks, former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps says as the party gathers in Ottawa on the final day of its leadership contest.
In an interview with The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson, Copps says that if former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney emerges as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s replacement on Sunday evening, as he is presumed to do, he could call an election before March 24, when Parliament resumes.
Sheila Copps, Former Deputy Prime Minister, believes the election will be called ‘sooner rather than later.’.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
“So if the Liberals under the leader go into an election, then the election rules kick in as to what you can spend on advertising. Before the election, it’s pretty much carte blanche.”
Ipsos polling recently showed the federal Liberal party with a slight lead over the Conservatives for the first time since 2021.
The poll, conducted exclusively for Global News by Ipsos, also showed a majority, 86 per cent, of Canadians said they want a federal election immediately so Canada has a prime minister and government with a strong mandate to deal with Trump’s tariffs.
As well as Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, Liberal lawmaker Karina Gould and Montreal businessman Frank Baylis are all vying for the top job. Copps had originally thrown her support behind Gould, and hopes she is the runner-up in the race.
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Copps believes the resurgence in support for the Liberals is because Carney could go toe-to-toe with Trump on his tariff threats.
“I think the Trump, turmoil has refocused Canadians attention on having, a leader who actually has good background and business experience,” Copps says.
Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on all Canadian goods earlier this week only to announce carve outs and rollbacks on a range of goods two days later, including delaying tariffs on goods that meet the rules of origin requirements under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. He has also been continuously taunting Canada with threats of becoming the US’s “51st state.”
As well as being the former Bank of Canada governor, 59-year-old Carney also travelled the world working for Goldman Sachs and was the first non-British person to become governor of the Bank of England.
“He’s sort of done both public and private sector stuff pretty successfully. And I think people are very worried about what’s happening in Washington, and they want somebody who’s got the experience to actually have delivered their own deals,” Copps says.
“So if Trump is trying to make it the art of his deal, we have somebody on our side who can deal on an equal footing when it comes to the transition of power.”
With the party’s renewed popularity, Copps says if Carney wins the leadership, he should take the current cabinet into the election and reshape it later.
“Right now, they’ve got a decent, strong team there. You see, people like, (Foreign Affairs Minister) Melanie Joly and (Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs of Canada) Dominic LeBlanc carrying the message very effectively.”
The party’s change in fortune will also likely prompt MPs who previously said they won’t seek reelection to change their minds. An example of this was minister of transport and internal trade Anita Anand’s about-face last month, when she announced she would run in the upcoming election, despite a month earlier saying she would not and was considering returning to her former life as an academic.
“I think you’ll see some others do the same. I really do,” Copps says. “And I know that the nomination process is going to be a lot more popular now, because when you’re on the up, people like to run for your party. And when you’re going down, it’s hard to get candidates, good candidates.”
In terms of advice for the potential new leader, Copps says he should work on his French and being “a little bit more folksy.”
“He’s got the, history. He was born in Fort Smit in N.W.T. and he’s lived in Alberta, and he’s lived in Ontario and he’s lived abroad. So he has a broad experience, but he can appear to be a little bit distant. And I think on the campaign trail, people are going to want somebody that they can relate to.”
That also means shutting down criticism over refusal to disclose financial holdings. Carney has said he will put his financial assets in a blind trust if he is elected.
“That’s how it works in Canada. Unlike the United States, where Mr. Trump can actually launch a Bitcoin on the same day as he’s becoming president and actually get money from it. So the laws here are very direct,” Copps says.
The winner of the Liberal leadership race has to abide by the Conflict of Interest Act, which means they must divest controlled assets. Those assets must be sold in an arm’s-length transaction or placed in a blind trust within 120 days.
The new Liberal leader is expected to be announced Sunday evening.
