EBN- Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has resigned from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government over disagreements over how the country is prepared to deal with the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump, a move that could cause a political earthquake in the country.
Bloomberg said that Freeland had been for years the most influential person in Trudeau’s government, as she also served as deputy prime minister, and after Trump won the presidential election, she was appointed to lead a ministerial group working to develop a strategy to respond to American policies.
Freeland announced her resignation in a post on her social media account on Monday, saying in a letter to the prime minister that they “disagree on the best path forward for Canada.”
In her resignation letter, which she released just hours before she was due to deliver a financial and economic update to Parliament, Freeland spoke of Trump’s “aggressive economic nationalism,” including his threat to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, a move that would have a devastating impact on the country’s economy.
Our country faces a serious challenge today, and we must take this threat seriously,” Freeland wrote. “That means maintaining strong fiscal reserves today, so we are prepared for the next tariff war. It also means avoiding costly political ploys that we cannot afford and that make Canadians doubt our ability to grasp the gravity of the moment.”
The outgoing minister said in her letter that she “still plans to run for re-election in her Toronto riding.”
Trump: We won’t miss Freeland
Trump, in turn, mocked Freeland’s resignation, writing in a post on Truth Social: “The Great State of Canada was stunned when our Finance Minister resigned, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau. Her behavior was toxic, and does not help at all in making good deals for unhappy Canadians. She will be missed forever.”
The Canadian prime minister, whose Liberal Party trails the opposition Conservatives by about 20 points in recent opinion polls as elections approach next year, has yet to name a replacement for Freeland, but the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Trudeau had offered Freeland a position to manage Canada-U.S. relations.
Freeland is Canada’s first female finance minister, taking office in 2020 after the prime minister clashed with then-Finance Minister Bill Moreno over issues such as spending on COVID-19 support programs.
Bloomberg, for its part, considered that the sudden resignation of one of Trudeau’s most loyal ministers, after holding high-level ministerial positions for 9 years of this government, represents a “severe blow” to the prime minister, who has lost a number of senior officials in recent months.
She suggested Freeland may have used the phrase “political ploys” in reference to the government’s announcement last month that it plans to implement a two-month sales tax exemption (during the holiday season) on certain goods, such as toys and Christmas trees, and send C$250 relief checks to millions of Canadians.
