Chrystia Freeland, the former deputy prime minister, sought to distance herself from Mr. Trudeau in a public letter criticizing him for “costly political gimmicks.”

Chrystia Freeland, whose abrupt resignation as finance minister last month forced Justin Trudeau's exit as prime minister, said she is running to be the next leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister of Canada.

In a sparsely worded post on the social media platform X, the former finance minister and deputy prime minister said simply that she's "running to fight for Canada."