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OTTAWA — Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is the latest cabinet minister to decline to run for the Liberal leadership after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation on Monday.
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MacKinnon had explored the possibility of throwing his hat in the ring but, in a statement posted to social media on Sunday, said the timeline of the race was too tight.
“Unfortunately, the time available does not allow me to mount the kind of campaign that I would want to run,” MacKinnon wrote.
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On Friday, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters she was personally ready to become the Liberal party’s first female leader, but that leaving her current responsibilities made it impossible.
So far the race has only two declared candidates: Ottawa backbencher Chandra Arya and Quebec businessman and former MP Frank Baylis.
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