Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has confirmed that she has briefed Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney regarding President Donald Trump's tariffs. This development comes as Joly engages in "rolling conversations" with numerous individuals concerning Canada-U.S. relations. The briefings, as stated by Joly's office, have been offered to all leadership candidates, though the timing remains unspecified.
Joly informed Liberal MPs at a national caucus meeting on Wednesday that she has been briefing Carney ahead of the upcoming Sunday vote. Carney, despite not being an elected member of Parliament, has garnered significant endorsements from cabinet ministers and Liberal MPs, positioning him as the presumed front-runner in the leadership race. His potential ascent to prime minister could occur as early as next week.
The political landscape within the Liberal Party is charged with Chrystia Freeland basing her campaign on her experience to counteract Trump's tariffs. However, Freeland has not yet received any government briefings since launching her leadership bid.
"Chrystia Freeland has not received any briefings from the government or ministers since launching her leadership campaign," said Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokesperson for Freeland's campaign.
Joly's involvement with Carney has raised questions about her impartiality. While she has assured that she has not refused any candidate’s request for a briefing, it remains unclear when or if other candidates will receive similar briefings. James Fitz-Morris, Joly's director of communications, emphasized Joly's proactive engagement.
"Joly has ‘been in touch and has offered briefings to all of the leadership candidates’ and described her as having ‘rolling conversations’ with many different people about Canada-U.S. relations during recent weeks," said Fitz-Morris.
At Wednesday's meeting, Joly provided an update on Ottawa's response to Trump's tariffs but did not specify her schedule for briefing other leadership candidates. None of the other campaigns responded to requests for comment on Wednesday.
