Gould says Trump won’t listen to journalists and central bankers in swipe at Liberal leadership rivals

Fresh out of the gate from launching her Liberal leadership bid, Karina Gould suggested her two main opponents’ backgrounds would do little to gain the favour of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

“I’m not sure that journalists and central bankers are the kind of people that Donald Trump listens to,” the Ontario MP said in an interview airing Sunday on CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live.

Gould’s former cabinet colleague Chrystia Freeland worked as a journalist and editor at a number of news organizations, including the Financial Times and Reuters, before entering politics. Mark Carney served as the governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. 

The race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced nearly two weeks ago he would step aside once a successor is chosen, is heating up just as Trump prepares to take office on Monday. 

Trump has threatened to levy a 25 per cent across-the-board tariff on Canadian goods, a move economists and lawmakers have warned would be devastating for the Canadian economy.

Gould, who officially launched her campaign on Saturday, said Canada needs someone “strong, who’s not afraid to stand up to bullies.

“If you give a bully your lunch money, they don’t stop asking for your lunch money. They come back for more and they try and shake you down,” she told host Rosemary Barton.

Burlington MP says Liberals out of step with Canadians 

Asked about her economic bonda fides against Carney and Freeland — who until just recently was the country’s finance minister — Gould said she believes people are “looking for someone who understands what they’re going through.

“I’ll be very honest with you … Canadians don’t trust the Liberal Party of Canada right now,” she said. “We’ve gotten further away from the grassroots and talking about the things Canadians care about.”

Gould has held a series of cabinet positions, most recently as the government’s House leader, but said she’s stepping aside from cabinet to focus on her run.

She suggested her policy ideas “might not necessarily align” with where the party has been.

When it comes to one of the government’s signature environmental policies — the consumer carbon tax — Gould suggested she’d replace the unpopular program.

“What I want to do is make sure that we’re helping Canadians make the decisions that they want,” said Gould, while teasing she’d have more to say later for her climate change platform.

“What I understand about Canadians is that they care about the climate change, they care about reducing their emissions and they’re looking for ways that they can help do that, but in a way that is more affordable.”

If she’s successful, the 37-year-old would become the youngest prime minister in Canadian history. 

“It’s definitely an asset,” she said of her age.

“What I hear from people right across the country is that they are looking for something fresh, they are looking for new energy and they are looking for someone who is here not just today but also tomorrow and for the long-term.”

Liberals will choose next PM March 9

First elected in Burlington, Ont., in 2015, Gould was promoted to a cabinet role two years later, taking the democratic institutions portfolio after Trudeau abandoned his promise to bring in electoral reform. 

She made history becoming the first federal cabinet minister to take maternity leave, after giving birth to her son Oliver in 2018. She gave birth to her daughter Taya nearly a year ago. 

Gould took the families, children and social development portfolio after the 2021 election, where she was tasked with handling the political mess of backlogged passport applications.

She also helped bring in the national child-care program, which she called one of her proudest moments in office.

“I’ve helped Canadians save thousands of dollars a year to make sure their kids are looked after well,” Gould said.

The Liberal Party announced they will choose their next leader — and by extension Canada’s next prime minister — on March 9. Hopefuls have until Jan. 23 to declare their candidacy. People can register with the party to vote in the leadership race until Jan. 27.

Three other candidates, Cape Breton, N.S., MP Jaime Battiste, Ottawa MP Chandra Arya and Montreal businessman Frank Baylis, have also said they are running for the top Liberal job.