Why Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste dropped out of the Liberal leadership race

Liberal MP Jaime Battiste, then-candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, gives a thumbs up as he makes his way to his vehicle in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste says his decision to drop out of the federal Liberal leadership race was partly motivated by a lack of money.

The Indigenous politician from Cape Breton said Friday that raising enough cash to cover the $350,000 deposit required by the party by Feb. 17 would have been a huge challenge.

“The funding was always going to be difficult because of the sheer amount of money needed in a short amount of time,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “The money was absolutely a factor .... Once next week kicked in, and it was a $125,000 (instalment required), I was looking at it and saying, ‘Is this possible?’”

Battiste, however, said money wasn’t the only reason he gave up his bid to become Canada’s first Indigenous prime minister.

He said he changed his mind after taking part in a series of conversations with other leadership contenders, including Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada.

Battiste was among five Liberal MPs to attend a speech Carney delivered Friday in Halifax, during which Carney spelled out his plan to get rid of the Liberals' unpopular carbon pricing regime and replace it with a carbon credit system.

After the speech, Battiste said that during his conversations with Carney, the front-running candidate pledged to make environmental protection and reconciliation with First Nations priorities. “I’m confident that he’s going to champion those,” Battiste said in the interview. “Those were the priorities that I was advocating for.”

Battiste said another factor in his decision was Carney’s commitment to resume working on Ottawa’s proposed $47.8-billion settlement to reform First Nations child and family services, which was rejected by the Assembly of First Nations in October.

On another front, he said Carney supports stalled legislation that would have recognized that First Nations have an inherent right to clean drinking water, a bill that died on the order paper after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament in early January.

“I needed to hear from him about reconciliation and what his plan was,” said Battiste, the first Mi’kmaw to serve as a member of Parliament.

“And we have some unfinished business regarding child and family services. I know he’s going to champion First Nations clean water legislation. When I heard those things from him, I was confident that he’s the leader that Canada needs right now.”

When he entered the race on Jan. 13, Battiste said he had been encouraged to do so by Indigenous leaders from across Canada. Asked Friday if he felt disappointed by having to leave the race with so many First Nations cheering him on, Battiste said he succeeded in making Indigenous issues part of the campaign.

“There has been less than a handful of First Nations MPs from a First Nations reserve,” he said. “I realized that’s a great responsibility and I had to advocate for those people in this race.”

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In November, the member for Sydney-Victoria failed in his bid to have a court overturn changes made to the boundaries of his riding, which he won in 2019, but barely held onto in 2021. The boundary changes resulted in the removal from the riding of the Eskasoni First Nation, which is where he lives. Asked if his bid to become Liberal leader was motivated by a desire to boost his electoral profile in Sydney-Victoria, Battiste dismissed the idea.

“The reason I entered the race was the priorities that I had,” he said. “When I was talking with Mark, it wasn’t about me. It wasn’t about a riding or a boundary. It was about the country of Canada and the unfinished business that we have .... It has nothing to do with personal ambitions.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2025.

- Michael MacDonald

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