WARMINGTON: Liberals to choose Canada's new prime minister on Sunday

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By 3 p.m. on Sunday, up to 160,000 Liberals who have been deemed eligible will decide who Canada’s new prime minister will be.

It’s not necessarily Canadians, or even adults, deciding whether it will be Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland Karina Gould or Frank Baylis who will make Canadian history. But amid the tariffs crisis with President Donald Trump’s America, it’s a decision that could have tremendous impact on the country.

Yet most Canadians, many already scratching their heads at how parliament has been suspended to allow the party to sort out who will lead them and the country, will have no say in it. It’s just those 160,000 people who don’t have to be Canadian or even old enough to drive, let alone drink legally or vote in any other political election, who are in control of choosing Canada’s next PM.

That’s a lot of power in the hands of what amounts to a small percentage of the country.

While the new Liberal leader could call an immediate election, it is also conceivable that he or she could cement a deal with an opposition bench to stay in power until at least October or even deep into 2026. And, unlike in a federal election where each voter must be a minimum 18 years old and a Canadian citizen, according to the Liberal Party of Canada website, you only need to be able to prove you are at least 14 years old and have to provide proof of at least being a permanent resident.

“To vote in the Liberal Leadership race, you need to take the initial step to verify your identity and confirm your citizenship or permanent resident status,” Liberal party Director of Communications Parker Lund said Saturday.

Non-Canadians are part of the process of deciding who leads Canadians. But they are not allowed to participate in a full election.

Another interesting factor is that while the Liberal Party has indicated it attracted 400,000 new members, they have also said that just 160,000 of those have passed the verification process and are eligible to vote.

 “So far,160,000 have verified and 137,000 have voted – already more than the 2013 leadership race,” Lund said.

This means that 240,000 who signed up are ineligible.

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“For your background, not all of the nearly 400,000 people who took the step of signing up to be a Liberal tried to go through the verification process,” Lund explained.

At this point, we don’t know how many of the 160,000 who can cast a vote are not Canadian or under age 18 – both of which are requirements to participate in a federal election. But that means if someone were to join the Liberal party who is not Canadian, they would be able to participate in selecting who becomes Canada’s 24th prime minister once current officer holder Justin Trudeau steps down – perhaps as early as Sunday or Monday.

Online voting on a ranked ballot featuring four approved candidates ends at 3 p.m. Sunday.

With some 23,000 eligible members yet to cast their vote, the campaigns are busy this weekend holding rallies and making appearances.

At the Carney rally in Mississauga on Sunday, it looked like a good crowd was on hand. But it was difficult to tell for sure because a lot of the independent media were not just barred from entering but ran into an RCMP detail working alongside Peel Regional Police.

Among those barred was Toronto lawyer and independent journalist Caryma Sa’d who said: “I arrived outside the event and was immediately approached by a volunteer who said I was not allowed to attend. He recognized me without looking at my identification. Meanwhile, other guests were allowed into the building to sign in; some even registered on the spot … although Mr. Carney has the legal authority to bar access to anyone he wants from his private venue, this was a publicly advertised event related to his leadership campaign.”

It was almost as if Carney was being protected like he is already our prime minister.

Interesting because former MP Ruby Dhalla, who was on this ballot before being one of two leadership hopefuls disqualified last month, has called this whole thing a “coronation” of Carney.

“Canadians are angry at the attack on democracy,” Dhalla said in an emailed statement. “It’s clear the Liberal establishment wanted to have complete the coronation of Mark Carney so he would have no competition. Instead 5.8 million Canadians spoke out on Twitter and now only 150K out of 400K have voted and that two split amongst four candidates. As leader and as Prime Minister, Carney will always have an asterisk next to his name that he won with the help of the establishment in a leadership race that was only an illusion and a sham.”

Political pundit Sarbjit Kaur showed on X what looked to be a boisterous and well attended meeting with supporters getting ready to push Carney over the line and into becoming the next prime minister.

“Great energy! She reported on X. “Well organized and motivating. Carney greeting people on the way off the stage. People are loving him.”

We will find out Sunday afternoon just how many people.

With so little understanding of who was deemed eligible to vote and who wasn’t, it’s hard to know what would happen if this ranked ballot process goes to a second vote and where those votes will land.

While the Liberal Party calls it a “fair and secure” process, just 160,000 members, who don’t have to be Canadian or even of adults, will decide who Canada’s new prime minister will be.

jwarmington@postmedia.com