Longtime cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc will not be running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as head of the Liberals, he announced in a statement posted to social media on Wednesday.
LeBlanc — who’s been an MP since 2000 and ran for the leadership in 2008 before dropping out to support Michael Ignatieff — wrote he is “enormously grateful” for those who’ve encouraged him to run.
“While I am extremely grateful for the encouragement and the expressions of support I have received from caucus colleagues and Liberals across the country, I have decided not to be a candidate in the Liberal Party of Canada’s upcoming leadership race,” he wrote.
Trudeau announced Monday he’s stepping down from the party’s leadership, but staying on as prime minister until a new leader is selected through what he called a “robust, nationwide, competitive process.”
Liberal MPs, meanwhile, are meeting in Ottawa today for the first time since Trudeau’s announcement he’s stepping down.
More to come.