Freeland casts herself as ‘battle tested leader’ and most capable of negotiating with an unpredictable White House

• Who could replace Justin Trudeau as leader of Canada’s Liberal party?

Chrystia Freeland has warned of the “existential risk” to Canada posed by Donald Trump, casting herself as a “battle tested leader with the scars to prove it” during the formal launch of her bid to be the country’s next prime minister.

Freeland, who has presented herself as the figure most capable of negotiating with a protectionist and unpredictable White House, held her formal campaign launch the day before the incoming president’s inauguration and pledged “dollar to dollar” retaliation for any tariffs that would amount to the “largest trade blow the US has ever endured”.