On Friday, Chrystia Freeland, former Canadian finance minister, declared her candidacy to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the leader of the Liberal Party.

Having been a close political ally of Trudeau for ten years, Freeland resigned last month after opposing his calls for increased government spending and criticizing his leadership approach.

Her surprising exit stirred unrest within the Liberal Party, already grappling with declining popularity due to high prices and a housing crisis.

This situation prompted Trudeau to announce he would step down once a new leader is chosen, with a successor expected to be named by March 9, 2025.

In her announcement, Freeland stated, 'I'm running to fight for Canada,' with a formal campaign launch set for Sunday.

Although polls indicate that the Liberal Party faces a potential heavy defeat by the Conservative Party in the next federal election, Freeland's challenge will be to differentiate herself from Trudeau, given her long-standing association with him, particularly as his finance minister since 2020.

Her primary competitor for the leadership role is likely to be Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada.

Carney, who announced his candidacy on Thursday, is positioning himself as an outsider, contrasting with Freeland's connections to the current government.

Freeland, 56, has been finance minister since August 2020, and she played a significant role in formulating Canada's multibillion-dollar social spending program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She has also served as foreign minister and successfully led Canada's trade negotiations to renegotiate the North American trade agreement with the United States and Mexico.

Initially appointed to the government in November 2015 as trade minister, Freeland was a senior journalist with various media organizations, including the Financial Times, Reuters, and the Globe and Mail, before entering politics.