The Prime Minister, who precipitated the Liberal leadership race by announcing in January that he would be stepping down upon the selection of his successor, spoke of Canadians pulling together.
The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Liberals in his final speech to the party that nothing can be taken for granted, including Canada’s existence itself, as the country faces the challenges of tariffs imposed by the United States.
Before Mark Carney was elected the next Liberal Leader in a landslide on Sunday, Mr. Trudeau urged his party to pay more attention to a future expected to include a federal election this spring.
“Make no mistake. This is a nation-defining moment,” he said, speaking to hundreds of Liberals at a convention centre in downtown Ottawa, after 12 years as Liberal leader.
“Democracy is not a given. Freedom is not a given. Even Canada is not a given. None of those happen by accident. None of those will continue without effort.”
The Prime Minister, who precipitated the Liberal leadership race by announcing in January that he would be stepping down upon the selection of his successor, called on the party to look beyond its record in power.
“Let us not dwell on all the great things we have achieved over the past 10 years. Let us aspire instead to achieve more over the next 10 years, and the decades to come.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cheers as Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his victory speech during the the Liberal leadership announcement event in Ottawa on March 9.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
In 2013, the Liberals – then languishing as a small third-place rump in the House of Commons – turned to Mr. Trudeau in the hopes his celebrity as the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau would boost their fortunes.
In the 2015 federal election campaign that followed, the Liberals leapt over the Official Opposition NDP and the governing Conservatives to win a majority government, ending prime minister Stephen Harper’s nearly decade-long run in power.
However. Mr. Trudeau’s Liberals were reduced to a minority government in 2019, trailing the Conservatives in the popular vote but winning more seats. The 2021 federal election campaign, which turned heavily on Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, produced a similar result.
On Sunday, Mr. Trudeau was introduced by his 16-year-old daughter, Ella-Grace, one of three children with his former spouse, Sophie Grégoire. She said she and her two brothers were eager to have more time with their father.
“I’m looking forward to seeing more of him at home, and less of him online,” she said, adding she was, nonetheless, proud of her father’s work in politics.
“My brothers and I have shared our dad with you for the past 12 years. Now, we’re taking him back.”
The gathering also featured remarks by Jean Chrétien, the Liberal prime minister from 1993 to 2003, and also a cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau.
He was blunt in remarks about U.S. President Donald Trump, who has imposed a sweeping program of tariffs on Canada – creating widespread concerns about the state of this country’s economy.
“From one old guy to another old guy: ‘Stop this nonsense,’” said Mr. Chrétien, 91, addressing Mr. Trump, who is 78.
The former prime minister saluted Mr. Trudeau and the premiers for working to counter the President’s “completely unjustified” tariff agenda.
Tariff battle set to escalate this week with U.S. levies on Canadian steel and aluminum
He urged the federal government to go further, if necessary, by imposing an export tax on oil, gas, potash, steel, aluminum and electricity, raising revenues to build such Canadian infrastructure as a natural-gas pipeline from Alberta to Quebec. Mr. Chrétien said such a project would keep steelworkers employed for a long time.
The former prime minister noted the world has lived with a rules-based order for 80 years that has empowered the United States, “and now Donald Trump has decided to throw it all out the window.”
While Canadians will be experiencing difficult times, Mr. Chrétien said, “I am confident that the next prime minister will work with the premiers, the leaders of all the political parties in the House of Commons and allies around the world to stand together to meet the challenges that Mr. Trump is creating for the whole world.”
With a report from Bill Curry