Baylis officially enters race for federal Liberal leadership

Frank Baylis officially launched his campaign to succeed Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada at an event in Montreal on Thursday evening. 

He said he has a “prosperity agenda” and his priorities were to tackle the cost of living by investing in Canadian businesses and universities and getting the government’s fiscal house in order, improve the health care system by leveraging nurse practitioners, and modernize government by taking “power away from the prime minister” and giving it back to MPs and citizens. 

Baylis also said the way the carbon tax is currently set up is not working and is hurting the wrong people. He said he would fix the carbon tax and move towards cleaner air, but did not specify how. 

Speaking about potential U.S. tariffs, the candidate said “we have to answer fire with fire” and use dollar-for-dollar tariffs. He said his business background would equip him to negotiate with Donald Trump. 

“You get hit, you hit back. You get hit twice, you hit back twice. He charges a dollar tariff, fine, we charge a dollar tariff,” Baylis said. “He’ll understand that he’s not pushing us around.” 

Gould to cut GST for one year

Earlier Thursday, Liberal leadership candidate Karina Gould announced that if elected, she would cut the GST rate by one percentage point to 4 per cent for one year to provide some tax relief to struggling Canadians. 

Gould attended a campaign event at an independent bookstore in Ottawa on Thursday. The Burlington, Ont., MP also promised to raise the corporate income tax rate from 15 per cent to 17 per cent for companies that make more than $500 million in annual profits. 

“When it comes to groceries, for example, big corporations that have too much market share are raising the price of groceries, which leads to price inflation and just makes it harder for Canadians to get the basics they need,” Gould said. “I think it’s time for these very wealthy corporations to pay their fair share.”

Battiste’s withdrawal

Sydney—Victoria MP Jaime Battiste announced Thursday afternoon that he is withdrawing from the race to succeed Justin Trudeau in favor of former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney.

He confirmed his decision on Thursday by publishing a statement on social networks.

“After careful consideration and much discussion, I believe the best way to defend and advance the priorities I outlined earlier this week… is to support Mark Carney in his candidacy,” he wrote in a statement posted on X. “By supporting Mark, my fight is not over, it has only just begun!”

Battiste was the only Indigenous candidate in the race, as he noted in his statement: “This campaign made Canadian history by fielding the first Indigenous candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. I am proud to have been able to pave the way for future generations to build on this legacy.”

There are only five candidates left: in addition to Carney, there are former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, former MPs Ruby Dhalla and Baylis. 

A Léger poll conducted less than a week ago found that Carney, who is focusing his bid for the Liberal leadership on his economic credentials, has 34 per cent of support among Canadians, with former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland coming in second at 14 per cent.

Carney, who has amassed a wealth of senior endorsements in cabinet and caucus, has 57 per cent of support among Liberal voters, compared with 17 per cent for Freeland.

Gould received 4 per cent of the vote from Canadians in general and Liberal voters in particular.

Leger surveyed 1,527 Canadian adults and 336 Liberal voters from Jan. 24 to 26. The poll has no margin of error because it is an online survey.

In a news release Thursday, the Liberal Party of Canada said nearly 400,000 registered Liberals have registered to vote in the upcoming leadership race. It said the number is preliminary as the party continues to review applications and leadership campaigns will be able to challenge the status of those who are registered to vote. 

The press release said the party had “its best January ever” for fundraising from citizens and that over the past month, more than 100 Canadians have nominated themselves to become Liberal candidates in the next election. 

Candidates had until Thursday to pay the party the first $50,000 to stay in the race. They will each have to gradually pay the party a total of $350,000 by Feb. 17 to cover the cost of entering the race.

The Liberals will choose their next leader on March 9.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews