Transition process to replace Justin Trudeau is quietly underway

Far from the political spotlight and prying eyes, the process has already begun.

When the next Liberal leader is announced on March 9, it will mark the end of the leadership campaign triggered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to resign.

However, experts say the process to transition to the next prime minister begins well before that day. Before any new Liberal leader decides to plunge Canada into an early federal election, there are legal and technical steps they must first take.

David Zussman, who worked on former prime minister Jean Chrétien's transition team, said there are "a huge number of really important elements in the transition" that require advance planning.

Zussman says his experience has taught him that governments who plan their transition in advance have "good starts to their governing … as opposed to the situation where they are sworn in and they don't know what to do next."

Spokespeople for front-runner Mark Carney and former finance minister Chrystia Freeland's campaigns are being tight-lipped — both simply saying their candidate will be ready to lead on day one and refusing to reveal who may be working on transition teams.

The Liberal Party says it is working with the campaign directors of all the candidates on the transition to becoming party leader, preparing for the next election and key decisions involving the party that will have to be made in the first hours and days after the leader is chosen.

A spokesperson for the Privy Council Office (PCO), which oversees the federal government as well as serves cabinet and the Prime Minister's Office, says a candidate identifying transition team members early can help "ensure they are prepared to assume office in a timely manner."

Given that the winner will inherit a minority government with an Official Opposition that has vowed to force an election once Parliament resumes sitting, experts say it is all the more important for the leading candidates to have chosen a transition team and be sketching out plans for the first days and weeks.

"The public service has done this 13 times in 40 years," said Michael Wernick, former clerk of the Privy Council. "It's experienced at it. Each one presents a slightly different set of issues. The advantage in this scenario, where you have succession within the same party, is that you can rely on a certain amount of continuity."

Wernick said the transition from former prime minister Stephen Harper's government to Trudeau's took 16 days.

"The ability for Carney or Freeland or whoever to do that this time depends on their transition team and how many decisions they've made in advance," he said.

Experts say one of the key questions for a transition team to consider is the structure and size of the next cabinet and who should be part of it. In this case, there are existing Liberal cabinet ministers and political staffers to choose from who have already been vetted and whose ethics filings are up to date.

However, if the new leader wants to bring in new blood, Wernick said the transition team can start vetting them now.