Canada’s Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland Resigns

Chrystia Freeland stepped down as finance minister on Monday after disagreeing with Justin Trudeau over US President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats and a budget deficit that could be $20 billion over the promised $40.1 billion cap.

Chrystia Freeland’s departure is the first open dissent against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from a senior cabinet minister, which may jeopardize his grasp on power.

Trudeau is 20 points behind his strongest competitor, Conservative Pierre Poilievre. Since September, Poilievre has tried three times to destabilize the government and trigger a fast election.

First elected to parliament in 2013, Freeland joined Trudeau’s cabinet two years later, when the Liberals surged to power, holding important cabinet positions such as trade and foreign minister and overseeing free trade discussions with the EU and the United States.

In her resignation letter, Freeland stated that Trudeau offered to reassign her to another position, to which she responded, “I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from cabinet.”

Freeland Warns Over Tariffs

As finance minister, she emphasized taking Trump’s tariff threats “extremely seriously.” She warned that it might lead to a “tariff war” with the US and urged Ottawa to keep its “fiscal powder dry.”

“That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford,” she said, appearing to criticize a recent sales tax holiday opponents said was expensive and geared at strengthening Trudeau’s sinking electoral fortunes.

Freeland’s rejection of Trudeau’s economic ideas is “a big problem,” indicating that his cabinet is not as united as many had assumed.

Freeland resigned the same day she was expected to update the nation’s finances amid predictions that the government would exceed Freeland’s $40.1 billion deficit projections in April.

Trudeau’s Housing Minister, Sean Fraser, who announced his resignation on Monday, hailed Freeland as “professional and supportive.”

“This government is in shambles,” replied Conservative deputy leader Andrew Scheer after hearing about Freeland’s departure. Even she has lost faith in Trudeau”, sheer said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resign but stopped short of calling for an election. He also did not specify whether he would withdraw his support for the minority government.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has voted with the Liberals on three Conservative non-confidence motions this fall, keeping the government from toppling.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance is still planning to unveil its long-awaited fall economic statement (FES) after weeks of speculation about a higher-than-projected deficit and the potential failure of other fiscal “anchors” Trudeau claimed her would keep his budget on track.

The Ministry said the news blackout on the Fall Economic Statement will be lifted at approximately 4 p.m. It is still unclear who will present the document in the House of Commons.

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