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OTTAWA — Liberal party members will crown a new leader and prime minister on Sunday while the country finds itself embroiled in a trade war with its closest ally and neighbour.
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The leadership vote comes only days after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed and then subsequently paused widespread tariffs on Canadian goods. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that that the transition to the new leader “should happen reasonably quickly” but that the particularly complicated geopolitical moment could make it more difficult.
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The Liberal convention kicks off in downtown Ottawa at 4 p.m. and the new leader is expected to be announced early in the evening.
The 400,000 Liberal members have until 3 p.m. ET on Sunday to cast their ballot. As of Friday, more than 125,000 Liberal members had voted — already beating the number of votes cast in the 2013 leadership race that saw Trudeau elected as leader.
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien is expected to take the stage as speaker, as is Trudeau. The party said he will be thanked for his work as Liberal leader for over a decade.
Philippe J. Fournier, creator of the poll aggregator website 338Canada, told National Post that all available indicators demonstrate that the Liberal leadership should indeed be an easy first ballot win for Carney, adding “unless there’s something we’re missing, which is always possible.”
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