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

Freeland, a close political ally of Trudeau for a decade, stepped down last month due to disagreements over his proposals for increased government spending and criticized his leadership approach.

Her unexpected resignation caused turmoil within the Liberal Party, which was already struggling with declining popularity amid high inflation and a housing crisis.

This upheaval compelled Trudeau to announce he would resign once a new leader is chosen, with a replacement expected by March 9, 2025.

In her statement, Freeland declared, "I'm running to fight for Canada," and scheduled a formal campaign launch for Sunday.

Although polls indicate the Liberal Party faces potential defeat by the Conservative Party in the upcoming federal election, Freeland's challenge is to differentiate herself from Trudeau, given her extensive association with him, particularly as finance minister since 2020.

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

Carney, who announced his candidacy on Thursday, aims to portray himself as an outsider, contrasting with Freeland's connections to the current administration.

Freeland, 56, has served as finance minister since August 2020, significantly contributing to Canada's multibillion-dollar social spending initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previously, she was the foreign minister and led Canada's successful renegotiation of the North American trade agreement with the United States and Mexico.

Freeland was initially appointed as trade minister in November 2015.

Prior to her political career, she was a senior journalist at various media outlets, including the Financial Times, Reuters, and the Globe and Mail.