Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland, candidate for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, makes her way a meeting of the Liberal caucus with Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen, left, and Minister of Justice Arif Virani, right, in West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA - Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland said Thursday that Donald Trump's return to the presidency is the reason she would repeal changes to the capital gains tax she introduced just last year.

Freeland, who resigned from cabinet in December and is now running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Liberal leadership race, said Trump's election is a "major change" for the United States, Canada and the world.

"This is a president who has a majority in the Senate, who has a majority in Congress and who has really, really radical plans," she said in French as she arrived at a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa.

Those plans, she said, include creating instability in other countries' economies to attract more foreign investment, and Canada needs to be prepared and change its own plans.

As finance minister, Freeland hiked the capital gains tax inclusion rate in the federal budget less than a year ago, increasing the share of capital gains on which individuals or corporations have to pay tax.

At the time, she said it was a matter of "tax fairness" to ask wealthier people and corporations to pay a bit more to help the government pay for essential investments in things like health care and child care.

She also moved to wedge the Conservatives on it by separating it out from other budget items as a stand-alone legislative measure, forcing the Official Opposition to vote for or against it.

"I have observed over the past week the Conservative leader equivocating, dodging, deflecting when asked about his position on our plan for tax fairness," Freeland told a news conference on May 21. "It is important for Canadians to insist on a clear answer from the Conservatives on tax fairness. Depending on what answer we get, Canadians will know whose side the Conservatives are really on."

The Liberals will choose their next leader on March 9. Freeland is among seven candidates who have confirmed they've submitted their paperwork and an initial $50,000 deposit before the deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday.

Also running are former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, former cabinet minister Karina Gould, MPs Chandra Arya and Jaime Battiste and former MPs Frank Baylis and Ruby Dhalla.

The party will review the submissions and announce within the next 10 days which candidates have been accepted. The candidates also must ultimately pay $350,000 to the party in various instalments, with the final amount due in mid-February.

Most of the candidates are running on platforms of party renewal and economic stability, and are attempting to distance themselves from the deeply unpopular Trudeau.

Freeland also said Thursday she wants to introduce measures to renew the Liberal party and its grassroots. She made a not-so-subtle dig at Trudeau, who said on Jan. 6 he would resign after months of resisting growing calls for him to step aside.

"We can never again be in a position where the leader is the only person who decides who the leader is, and I think Liberal party grassroots members and caucus need to have a greater say in what we do and how we do it," she said.

After the last election, the Liberal caucus opted against adopting a mechanism available to all parties that allows caucus members to remove a leader if they secure enough support.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2025

News from © The Canadian Press, 2025