The Canadian government is in danger of collapsing in the dispute over how to properly deal with the threat of tariffs on imports to the USA. Prime Minister Trudeau unexpectedly loses his deputy and close confidante.
Canadian Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has unexpectedly resigned. She justified her move with disagreements with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Over the past few weeks, you and I have disagreed about the best path forward for Canada,” Freeland wrote in a letter to Trudeau that was published on the short message service X.
According to the letter, Trudeau no longer wanted the former Reuters journalist as finance minister but offered her another cabinet position on Friday. “After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that the only honest and viable path for me is to resign from cabinet,” wrote Freeland, who was considered Trudeau's closest ally in government.
Dispute over US tariffs led to resignation
However, Canadian media had reported in recent weeks that Freeland and Trudeau had clashed over the country's budget policy.
The finance minister had spoken out against tax cuts promised by the Prime Minister and emphasized that a more economical course was necessary in order to be able to respond to the tariffs on Canadian goods announced by US President-elect Donald Trump. The country must therefore forgo “expensive political games that we cannot afford and that make Canadians doubt whether we are aware of the seriousness of the situation,” Freeland now wrote to Trudeau.
She resigned just hours before the autumn economic report was due to be presented in Parliament. According to observers, this should have a much larger budget deficit for the years 2023/24 than originally planned. Trudeau's office initially declined to comment on the finance minister's resignation.
