BBC News, Toronto
After back-to-back debates in both English and French, the candidates to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party in Canada have made their case to voters.
Card-holding Liberals will now choose between former governor of the banks of Canada and England Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, House government leader Karina Gould and businessman and former MP Frank Baylis.
Whoever wins the vote on 9 March will become Canada’s next prime minister and will lead the Liberals in the forthcoming general election, which must be held on or before 20 October of this year.
A big focus of the debates has been how Canada should respond to US President Donald Trump, who has threatened steep tariffs on America’s northern neighbour and has suggested that Canada become the “51st state.”
Here are five big takeaways from the two Liberal leadership debates.
The Trump Factor
How Canada should respond to what many have dubbed an “existential threat” from US President Donald Trump has unsurprisingly dominated the agenda at both debates.
Trump has said he plans to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian exports, with the exception of energy that would be tariffed at a lower 10% – a move that economists say would be devastating for Canada while increasing prices for Americans.
He has also repeatedly proposed that the US should annex Canada, which has been met with alarm and anger from large swathes of the Canadian population.
Freeland, a former top minister who served during Trump’s first term, positioned herself as an experienced negotiator who has fought – and won – against the US president and his
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