Open this photo in gallery: Mark Carney talks with supporters during his Liberal leadership campaign launch in Edmonton, on Jan. 16.JASON FRANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Former central banker Mark Carney is lining up more endorsements from senior cabinet ministers from Quebec and top party brass as the Liberal caucus is set to meet Thursday to discuss the leadership race and threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
Innovation Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne and Employment Minister Steve MacKinnon are set to throw their support to Mr. Carney in the coming days, two sources say.
Both ministers represent Quebec ridings and their planned endorsements of Mr. Carney follow on the heels of Foreign Affairs Minister Mlanie Joly and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault also throwing their support behind him for the March 9 leadership vote.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources, who were not authorized to disclose the campaign strategy.
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Endorsements from senior ministers from Quebec are considered crucial for winning the leadership because the province has 78 ridings.
Mr. Carney’s main rival, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, has the support of one Quebec cabinet minister, Diane Lebouthillier at Fisheries. She also has the support of Quebec MP and former revenue minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, who is not running in the next election.
Mr. Champagne is expected to declare his support for Mr. Carney this weekend in his hometown of Shawinigan, according to the sources.
The sources said Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is also quietly backing the Carney campaign. He is unlikely to officially declare his support, but he has thrown his own organizers behind Mr. Carney, the sources said.
One of the sources said the Liberal Party’s chief fundraiser, Stephen Bronfman, has also privately offered his support to Mr. Carney. He is not raising money for the Carney campaign as it would be a conflict of interest, the source said.
At a cabinet retreat on Tuesday, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree – both from Ontario – also pledged their support for Mr. Carney. He also has the support of Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan, who announced he will not run in the next election. Mr. Sajjan, who represents a Vancouver-area riding, praised the former Bank of Canada governor’s role in navigating the 2008 global financial crisis.
Junior ministers Kamal Khera (Diversity and Inclusion) and Ruby Sahota (Democratic Institutions) have also pledged their support for Mr. Carney.
At a news conference Wednesday, Housing Minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who has not yet endorsed anyone, was asked why more cabinet ministers are backing Mr. Carney over their former colleague, Ms. Freeland.
“People are grappling with what’s our best foot forward, and what’s our best foot forward in an election where you got Pierre Poilievre,” he said. Referring to Mr. Carney, he added: “This is someone who navigated, helped Canada navigate through the Great Recession … He’s someone who helped Britain navigate through the difficult and challenging political circumstances of Brexit.”
Health Minister Mark Holland, Justice Minister Arif Virani and Minister of Citizens’ Services Terry Beech are the only other ministers backing Ms. Freeland so far.
The Liberal caucus is meeting Thursday and Friday in Ottawa, but Mr. Carney is not invited because he is not an MP. The caucus will discuss leadership race rules as well as the stand-off with U.S. President Donald Trump and his threat to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods.
Mr. Carney plans to meet Liberal MPs at an event off Parliament Hill. He has been spending his days since his leadership launch last Thursday recording messages and making phone calls to party faithful.
The two sources said Mr. Carney is telling Liberals he is the most capable leader to take on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre because he has the economic credentials needed to manage the sluggish economy and handle Mr. Trump.
Ms. Freeland, who is also Justin Trudeau’s former deputy prime minister, has been lining up support as well, calling potential supporters and making time for TV and radio interviews. Ms. Freeland has tried to distance herself from Mr. Trudeau by renouncing carbon pricing.
Last week, The Globe reported that she is also expected to renounce the capital-gains tax hike that she defended in her budget less than a year ago. On Wednesday, a source with her campaign said the change in policy would likely be positioned as a response to Mr. Trump and the need to ensure Canada’s tax competitiveness in the changing political environment. The Globe is not identifying the source who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
Ms. Freeland was pushed in an interview on Citytv Wednesday on how she could claim to be breaking with the Trudeau government on issues such as carbon pricing when she defended it for so long.
She said it has become clear Canadians don’t like the consumer price on carbon and want a new approach.
“That is what Canadians are telling us they want, and I think it’s actually a very arrogant position for a political leader to think they know everything,” Ms. Freeland said. “If people are telling you something, you really have to listen.”
Ms. Freeland has the support of about two dozen caucus members and the Carney campaign says he has 38 endorsements.
House Leader Karina Gould is also in the running but has fewer MPs supporting her bid.
Ontario MP Chandra Arya, Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis have also put their names forward as has former MP Ruby Dhalla.
Thursday is the deadline for candidates to declare their intention to run and pay the first instalment of the $350,000 entry fee.
By that date, they must also submit signatures in support of their bid from 300 registered Liberals, including at least 100 from each of three different provinces or territories