Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly cited her official responsibilities as the reason for staying out of the race to become leader of the ruling Liberal Party.PHOTO: REUTERS
OTTAWA – Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Jan 10 announced she would not run in the race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying she wanted to focus on the threat posed by potential US tariffs.
Ms Joly is the second Cabinet heavyweight after Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc to cite her official responsibilities as the reason for staying out of the race to become leader of the ruling Liberal Party.
“The reality is I can’t do both,” Ms Joly told reporters, ahead of a meeting to discuss retaliatory measures if president-elect Donald Trump goes ahead with a threat to impose tariffs.
“My job is to make sure that we’re ready should (he) decide to go on with his tariffs, and that’s why I took the decision (not to …