Dominic LeBlanc

Dominic A. LeBlanc PC KC MP (born December 14, 1967) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who serves as Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs.

The son of former Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, he ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party in 2008 but dropped out of the race to endorse Michael Ignatieff, who was later acclaimed leader.

In December 2024, following the resignation of Chrystia Freeland, LeBlanc became minister of finance and he gave up the responsibility for public safety and democratic institutions while keeping intergovernmental affairs and the border security portfolio.

[7] During that race there were accusations of political patronage as LeBlanc's father was the sitting viceroy, and there was criticism that the governor general had a series of events planned in New Brunswick during the week that the election writs dropped.

During the Liberal Party's time in power LeBlanc served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, from January 13, 2003, to December 11, 2003, and was the chair of the Atlantic Caucus.

In January 2006, he was named Official Opposition critic for international trade and later that year he was co-chair of the 2006 Liberal Party leadership convention in Montreal.

Before the return of Parliament in September 2010, Ignatieff shuffled his Shadow Cabinet and appointed LeBlanc as the Liberal critic for national defence.

On October 27, 2008, LeBlanc was the first candidate to officially announce his intention to seek the leadership of the Liberal party to replace Stéphane Dion.

[15] On December 8, 2008, LeBlanc announced he was dropping out of the leadership race because he felt a new leader needed to be in place as soon as possible and that he was throwing his support behind Ignatieff.

[19] Later, LeBlanc said that the next leader needs to commit 10 to 15 years of his or her life "occupied exclusively" with rebuilding the Liberal party and winning elections.

He had previously been a member of committee as the Liberal Party’s House Leader while in opposition from 2012 to 2015, and continued to serve on the Board until October 26, 2023.

The committee is the first body of its kind in Canada, offering parliamentarians an unprecedented view into highly classified intelligence and activities conducted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Global Affairs Canada.

LeBlanc’s tenure was also marked by heightened concerns regarding the entanglement of North Atlantic Right Whales, an endangered species, in fishing gear, leading to the death of several cetaceans.

[29] On September 12, 2018, the ethics commissioner, Mario Dion found LeBlanc broke conflict of interest rules when he awarded a lucrative Arctic surf clam licence to a company linked to his wife's cousin in February 2018.

[33] In December 2018, at a First Ministers’ Meeting in Montréal, LeBlanc led a discussion with Premiers on ways to strengthen internal trade in Canada.

[35] On November 20, 2019, LeBlanc returned to Cabinet as President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, a position with reduced responsibilities.

[40] Throughout this time, LeBlanc also retained responsibilities for several files he was previously assigned, including Democratic Institutions and Internal Trade.

[54] In December 2017, he announced that he had been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and would begin chemotherapy immediately while continuing to serve in his parliamentary roles.

LeBlanc with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff (centre-left) during the 2011 federal election campaign launch, in Ottawa .