Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland, second right, speaks as Karina Gould, lfrom eft, Frank Baylis, and Mark Carney look on during the English-language

Should she win the current federal Liberal leadership contest, Chrystia Freeland is pledging to scrap a controversial division of the Canada Revenue Agency that Muslim charities and civil liberties advocates have long accused of discriminatory auditing practices,

The stage was shared by four hopefuls: former governor of the banks of Canada and England Mark Carney, former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Liberal government House leader Karina Gould, and businessman and former MP Frank Baylis.

Mark Carney, the front-runner in the race to become Canada’s next prime minister, squared off for the first time with rival Chrystia Freeland in a French-language TV debate that focused on how to handle US President Donald Trump.

Canada's Liberal Party leadership candidates, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, former House leader Karina Gould and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis stand next to each other before participating in a French language debate ahead of the March 9 vote to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

Canada's Liberal Party leadership candidates, former House leader Karina Gould shakes hands with former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, near former Liberal MP Frank Baylis, and former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland,

Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland speaks during the English-language Liberal Leadership debate in Montreal on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press

Chrystia Freeland says Canada should build closer security partnerships with Nato allies as US president is ‘threatening sovereignty’

Politics reached out to a senior Freeland campaign source on their path to victory, and they laid out a four-pillar plan that sought to take advantage of her popularity amongst key groups and shifting political grounds.

With polls and fundraising pointing to former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney as the front-runner, Freeland still sees a possible path to victory in a race that, much like global politics as a whole, has been dominated by the disruptive decisions of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The four candidates vying to become the next leader of Canada’s Liberal party have made the case during a debate why they are best suited to deal with U.S.

Freeland, a semi-regular panelist on the irreverent political talk show, was in “full campaign mode” as she made her pitch to Maher that she was the right person to defend Canada against the whims of U.S. President Donald Trump. “The ballot question… is who can stand up for Canada, and who can fight for Canada,” Freeland told Maher.