Despite holding several ministerial positions over the last eight years, Liberal leadership candidate Karina Gould says she pushed back against her party’s unpopular policies while in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.
“It’s something that I’ve been trying to push within the party and within caucus to say that we have to listen to Canadians,” Gould said in an interview with CTV’s Power Play on Thursday.
“I was a cabinet minister and we have something called cabinet solidarity, so the conversations that happen in that room, stay in that room.”
Gould was elected as an MP in 2015 and was first appointed to Trudeau’s cabinet in 2017. In the years since, she’s held several portfolios, most recently as government House leader.
Speaking to host Vassy Kapelos, Gould admitted the Liberal Party “didn’t get everything right.”
“As a Liberal party, we have to do a better job of listening to Canadians, and listening to Canadians means actually changing some of the positions that we have and some of the policies that we have,” Gould said.
Asked directly by Kapelos “What made you see the light?” when it comes to the party’s delay in addressing Canadians’ affordability concerns, Gould said, “I think I’ve seen it for a while, to be honest.”
“Part of my job as the House leader was to defend the government’s position, but I made very strong comments within the spaces that I was acting,” she said.
Among one of those changes could be the future of the unpopular federal consumer carbon tax. Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney – who are considered frontrunners in the Liberal leadership race – have signalled they will move away from the policy that came into effect in 2019 under the Trudeau government.
Gould – for her part – says instead, she would freeze the carbon tax increase coming up on April 1.
“Until we have a plan in place to deal with the reductions emissions that make up about 10 per cent of Canada’s emissions reductions plan, we need to keep that price, but not increase it because what we’re hearing from Canadians is [that] now is not the time to make that increase,” Gould told Kapelos.
Another policy shift could include the increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, which was first put forth by the Trudeau government last year.
Speaking to reporters earlier on Thursday, Gould said, “I don’t think we got the capital gains tax increase right.”
“I’m having lots of conversations with the tech sector, the folks that are affected by it, to try and figure out what we can do to encourage folks and have more entrepreneurship.”
Unlike Freeland and Carney, Gould has yet to garner any cabinet support for her candidacy.
When asked about the lack of endorsement, Gould said, “It’s totally up to my colleagues who they decide to support.”
“I think what I represent is something different, somebody who is a grassroots politician who does listen to people across this country and who is generating hope, optimism and excitement for the future,” she said.
Under the rules set by the party, contenders had until 5 p.m. ET Thursday to submit a nomination package. The other leadership hopefuls are Jaime Battiste, Chandra Arya, Frank Baylis and Ruby Dhalla.
The Liberal Party will pick its next leader on March 9.
You can watch the full interview with Liberal leadership candidate Karina Gould at the top of this article.
