Champagne to endorse Carney for Liberal leadership this weekend: source

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OTTAWA — Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is expected to be lining up more key endorsements from Quebec federal ministers for his leadership bid in the coming days.

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The National Post confirmed that Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne will be announcing his support for Carney in an event in Shawinigan, where he lives, over the weekend according to a source. The information was first revealed by the Globe and Mail.

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Another source said that Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon, who represents the riding of Gatineau, will have more to say about his support in the race in the coming days but that he is likely also going to be endorsing the former central banker.

Carney has already the endorsement of more than 45 members of the Liberal caucus, according to his campaign, including high-profile ministers from Quebec.

In recent days, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said they would be supporting him in his bid to become Liberal leader.

Champagne had refused to unveil his intentions during this week’s cabinet retreat, and a source close to him said that he would be elaborating on his reasons over the weekend.

A source close to Carney recently said that they would be happy to receive the endorsement of such a prominent minister, and that there is a lot of overlap between people who respect Champagne and people who feel the same way about Carney.

Champagne’s endorsement is significant, as he is one of the few Quebec Liberals who represents a rural riding and can attract support for Carney outside of the Montreal area.

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Winning over Quebec will be key to winning the leadership race given it has 78 ridings.

But there is likely to be some competition. Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland has the support of Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier, Quebec caucus chair Stéphane Lauzon and former minister Marie-Claude Bibeau — all from rural areas in the province. She has the support of at least two dozen MPs across the country.

Freeland also spent some time before her launch in Montreal and her first media interview about the leadership race was notably in French in Quebec. She has since been granting interviews in Toronto and taking her distances from government policy she defended.

On Wednesday, a source close to Freeland said she would not move forward with the legislation to increase the capital gains inclusion rate she sought to introduce as finance minister, citing Canada’s new economic reality since Donald Trump’s election.

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“The new administration is pursuing an openly nationalist economic policy which includes extreme tax cuts and deregulation in an effort to suck in global capital. Trump is intentionally creating uncertainty in order to scare investment away from Canada.”

“Canada must respond. We need to fight for jobs. We need to fight for investment,” added the source. “We must adapt, and quickly.”

Carney has been more discreet since his campaign launch last week and has not granted any interviews. He has been focused on reaching out to MPs and organizers and registering as many new Liberal members as possible before the cut-off of Jan. 27.

“Mark’s campaign is off to a strong start from coast to coast to coast, with overwhelming support coming in from grassroots Liberals, organizers, and MPs,” said Carney’s national campaign director Braeden Caley, in a written statement.

Caley noted that the Carney campaign raised more than $125,000 just within the first 24 hours of his campaign launch, adding that it is “a pace that has only continued at great speed in the following days.”

Leadership contestants have until Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. to deliver their first payment of $50,000 and their nomination papers to the Liberal Party of Canada, after which the party has 10 days to approve their candidacy. The new leader will be announced on March 9.

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Until now, Carney, Freeland and Liberal MP Chandra Arya have confirmed they have submitted their application and their first deposit to the party.

Other leadership hopefuls include Liberal House leader Karina Gould, Liberal MP Jamie Battiste, as well as former Liberal MPs Frank Baylis and Ruby Dhalla.

National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com

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