All 5 Liberal leadership candidates clear final financial hurdle, turn to policies ahead of debate

All five Liberal leadership candidates say they've paid the final $125,000 due Monday evening that's required to stay in the race. Now, ahead of English and French debates in Montreal next week, the contenders are rolling out more policy proposals to sway Canadians to join their side.

On Monday morning, the Liberal Party announced former TVA-Québec anchor Pierre Jobin would moderate the French leadership debate in Montreal on Feb. 24. The party also announced former CBC News host Hannah Thibedeau would moderate the English debate that will take on Feb. 25.

Ahead of those two debates, candidates have been trotting out policy proposals on a whole host of issues, including federal government spending, housing, energy, food security and employment insurance.

Here's the latest from each of the five candidates before their Montreal showdown:

The former governor of the Bank of Canada is considered the front-runner in the contest by the Liberal caucus, boasting more than 80 endorsements from MPs and cabinet ministers. On Monday afternoon, Carney's campaign told CBC News it's submitted the final $125,000 instalment.

On Sunday, Carney sat down for an interview on Rosemary Barton Live and said a federal government led by him would run a deficit "to invest and a grow" Canada's economy.

But it would also balance its operational spending — like government-run programs, federal transfers and debt services charges — over the course of the next three years. 

Carney invoked U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing threat of sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods to justify his proposed deficit.

Carney also said he supports "the concept" of a west-east oil pipeline, an idea that's regained steam from some federal cabinet ministers and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. He added his government would accelerate approvals for such pipelines and for clean energy.

Canada is also making a push to dismantle interprovincial trade barriers. Carney said he would "quickly convene" the country's premiers to work on the issue in the service of making "one economy here, not 13."

Former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland trails Carney with 26 endorsements from Liberal MPs and cabinet ministers, though she's previously said her campaign is focused on the party's grassroots.

Freeland, who led Canada's response to Trump during his first term, has angled herself to voters as a tested negotiator to take on the U.S. president during his second term. 

In an interview on Sunday with MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi, Freeland said Trump's tariffs — which would most likely trigger a trade war between Canada and the U.S. — are an "act of huge self-mutilation."

The U.S. is threatening two actions. The first is a worldwide tariff of 25 per cent on steel and aluminum starting March 12. The second, which has been paused until March 4, is an economy-wide 25 per cent tariff on Canada and Mexico while the Trump administration works on border-security deals with both countries.