Canada's Liberal Party names its next leader Sunday, with a former central banker and political novice favored to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the country confronts threats from US President Donald Trump.
Mark Carney, who served as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, is the front-runner to be tapped Liberal leader when results from a vote of party members are announced later Sunday.
The other main challenger is Trudeau's former deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, who held several senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government that was first elected in 2015. Whoever wins will take over from Trudeau as prime minister, but will soon face an election that polls currently show the rival Conservative Party as slight favorites to win.
Carney has racked up endorsements, including from much of Trudeau's cabinet and more than half of Liberals in parliament.
A Freeland win remains possible but would be a surprise for the party as it heads towards an election that must be held by October, but could come within weeks.
Both Freeland and Carney have maintained that they are the best candidate to defend Canada against Trump's attacks.
The US president has repeatedly spoken about annexing Canada and thrown bilateral trade, the lifeblood of the Canadian economy, into chaos with dizzying tariff actions that have veered in various directions since he took office.
Party supporters were gathering Sunday at an Ottawa hall draped in red where the winner will be announced.
Luciana Bordignon, a 59-year-old sales representative from Vancouver, told AFP she was backing Carney but was confident the party would be emboldened after the vote.
"I expect to have a good, new, strong leader," she said.
Lozminda Longkines told AFP that Trump's repeated musings about making Canada the 51st US state were "a blessing in disguise."
"We are so united... We have a common enemy," the 71-year old said.
Carney has argued that he is the ideal counter to Trump's disruptions, reminding voters that he led the Bank of Canada through the 2008-2009 financial crisis and steered the Bank of England through the turbulence that followed the 2016 Brexit vote.
Trump "is attacking what we build. He is attacking what we sell. He is attacking how we earn our living," Carney told supporters at a closing campaign rally near Toronto on Friday.
"We are facing the most serious crisis in our lifetime," he added. "Everything in my life has prepared me for this moment."
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