Mélanie Joly will not run for Liberal party leadership, source confirms

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is out of the running to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, a Liberal source confirms to The Canadian Press.

Joly is expected to talk to media today outside a Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee meeting on Parliament Hill.

The Liberal leadership race is fully underway, now that the party has set a date for the race. More big-name candidates are expected to announce soon whether they intend to run or sit this one out.

Leadership hopefuls only have until Jan. 23 to declare and must pay a $350,000 fee to enter the race, which is set to conclude on March 9.

That leaves them just two weeks to make up their minds on whether to mount a campaign to replace Trudeau.

Anticipation has been building for months over whether former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former B.C. premier Christy Clark will throw their hats in the ring.