On 16th December, the Finance Minister of Canada, Chrystia Freeland, resigned from her post following a clash with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over several issues, including how to handle possible US tariffs to be imposed after President-elect Donald Trump takes charge.
In a statement, Freeland said that she resigned from the post in the wake of the meeting with Trudeau that was held on 13th December, where he asked her to take on a lesser post. Reportedly, Trudeau and Freeland had been arguing over spending for weeks. Following her resignation, a member of Trudeau’s inner circle, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, was named the new finance minister of Canada.
The 56-year-old Freeland was also serving as the deputy prime minister of Canada. Her resignation is being seen as one of the biggest crises the Trudeau administration has faced since taking power in November 2015. Trudeau is expected to lose the upcoming Canadian general elections, and Freeland’s exit is being seen as a big blow to his candidacy.
According to a Reuters report, Trudeau wanted Freeland to serve as a minister without any portfolio dealing with Canada-US relations. On the 16th, Trudeau called for a meeting with the national Liberal caucus, including Freeland. No statements were given to the media about the said meeting.
In a statement, the New Democrats, an opposition party that has been providing support to Trudeau’s administration from outside, said that in case Trudeau does not step down from his post, the NDP would call for a non-confidence motion next year.
The House of Commons leader for the NDP, Peter Julian, told Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC), “If we’re coming up to a straight up non-confidence motion at the end of February, early March, that’s one of the tools that we have.” He added that it is not possible for them to let Trudeau “continue like this”.
In a letter to Trudeau shared on social media platform X, Freeland said, “For the last number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds over the best path forward for Canada.” She added that the threat of new US tariffs represented a grave threat to Canada. She wrote, “That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford.”
See my letter to the Prime Minister below // Veuillez trouver ma lettre au Premier ministre ci-dessous pic.twitter.com/NMMMcXUh7A
— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) December 16, 2024
Speaking to the media on current issues in the country, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said that the opposition cannot let such chaos continue. He said, “We cannot accept this kind of chaos, division, weakness, while we’re staring down the barrel of a 25% tariff from our biggest trading partner.”
"Justin Trudeau has lost control and yet he clings to power. We cannot accept this kind of chaos, division, weakness while we're staring down the barrel of a 25% tariff," says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Sean Fraser and Chrystia Freeland leaving cabinet.
— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) December 16, 2024
#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/TA19njX2v9
Was Trump behind rumours of Trudeau’s resignation?
Following Freeland’s resignation, CTV News quoted sources in its report stating that the Canadian Prime Minister might be thinking of ending the parliamentary session and stepping down. In a report, CTV said that Trudeau was considering his “options as leader” citing unnamed sources. However, no official statement was issued by Trudeau or his Liberal Party in this context.
CBC said in a report that at least seven Liberal MPs also suggested to Trudeau in a meeting that he has to step down following Freeland’s resignation. However, sources quoted by CBC said that Trudeau said he would take time to reflect on caucus concerns.
Interestingly, some media outlets have claimed that it was US President-elect Donald Trump who instigated the rumours that Trudeau might resign from his post. Interestingly, Trump took a dig at the ongoing political crisis in Canada and wrote in a post on social media platform Truth Social saying, “The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau. Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals which are good for the very unhappy citizens of Canada. She will not be missed!!!”
Trump has been trolling Canada by calling it the “51st US state”. Not to forget, during his first term as the President of the US, Donald Trump had renegotiated the free trade deal with Canada and Mexico. At that time, he had said that Freeland was “not liked”. When Trump became the President-elect this time, he threatened to impose a 25% tax on all Canadian products entering the US, after which Trudeau went to meet him in Florida last month. At that time, though “jokingly”, Trump hinted at the idea that Canada becomes the 51st state.
The Canadian Prime Minister is facing a severe political crisis as his popularity has seen a steep dip in recent years. The Canadian government is already in a minority, running on support from outside. However, with Freeland’s exit, the possibility of Trudeau’s government standing the non-confidence motion next year is shaky.
