Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he shares the same economic vision as Mark Carney, and he’s throwing his support behind the former central banker to become the next Liberal leader and prime minister.

Carney has the support of a number of cabinet ministers and current Liberal MPs in the race to become the party’s new leader.

He is in Champagne’s Quebec riding of Saint-Maurice—Champlain on Sunday, where the pair spoke with media.

Carney says he will run as a Liberal candidate in the next election regardless of the outcome of the leadership race.

That was one of the demands from fellow leadership hopeful Chrystia Freeland, who on Friday released an open letter to candidates asking them to pledge that they will run in the next election and to hold four leadership debates.

The Liberal party is set to choose its new leader on March 9.

Seven candidates in total submitted paperwork and a $50,000 deposit last week seeking to be on the ballot. They include MPs Karina Gould, Jaime Battiste and Chandra Arya and former MPs Ruby Dhalla and Frank Baylis, in addition to Carney and Freeland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2025.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press