Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau The biggest test of his political career came when Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, long one of his most powerful and loyal ministers, announced on Monday that she was resigning from cabinet. .
The surprise move raised questions about how long the prime minister of nearly 10 years can hold on to his role as his administration struggles to cope with the influx. The newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump. Trudeau’s popularity has declined due to inflation and immigration concerns.
Opposition Leader Jagmeet Singh, whose party Trudeau’s ruling Liberals rely on to stay in power, called on Trudeau to resign. The main opposition Conservatives called for elections.
Freeland, who was also deputy prime minister, said Trudeau told her on Friday that he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister and offered her another cabinet role. But he said in his resignation letter to the prime minister that the only “honest and practicable course” was to leave the cabinet.
“For the past few weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds over the best course for Canada,” Freeland said.
Freeland and Trudeau clashed over a recently announced two-month sales tax holiday and a $250 Canadian ($175) check to Canadians. Freeland said Canada is grappling with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25 percent tariffs and should avoid “costly political maneuvers” it “cannot afford.”
“Our country faces a serious challenge,” Freeland said in the letter. “That means keeping our financial powder dry today, so we have the reserves we might need for the coming tariff war.”
Freeland was offered the position of minister in charge of Canada-US relations without portfolio and without a department, a Liberal Party official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the position would have been in name only and not with any of the tools Freeland already had. Ati when he discussed trade with him. US
The resignation comes as Freeland, who chaired the Cabinet Committee on U.S. Relations, was poised to deliver a fall economic statement and possibly border security measures to help Canada avoid Trump’s tariffs. Actions were announced. The president-elect of the United States has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on all products entering the United States from Canada and Mexico if they curb immigration and drug trafficking.
Trudeau has said he intends to lead the Liberal Party in the next election, but some party members have said they do not want him to seek a fourth term, and Freeland’s departure could be a sign of a Trudeau administration. It’s a hard blow.
“This news has really hit me hard,” Transport Minister Anita Anand said, adding that she needed to digest the news before commenting further.
Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poillevre said the government was losing control at the worst possible time.
“Justin Trudeau has lost control, but he’s holding on to power,” Poilievre said. “All of this chaos, all of this division, all of this weakness is happening because our biggest neighbor and closest ally is imposing 25 percent tariffs under the recently elected Trump, a man with a strong mandate. Who knows how to spot weakness.”
No Canadian prime minister has won four consecutive terms in more than a century.
The federal election is to be held before October. The Liberals must rely on the support of at least one other major party in Parliament, as they do not hold a clear majority on their own. If the opposition New Democratic Party, or NDP, pulls in support, an election could be held at any time.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said, “I’m calling for Justin Trudeau to resign. He has to go.”
Trudeau’s Liberal Party needs the support of the NDP to stay in power. Singh did not say whether he would note the no-confidence vote in the government but said all options were on the table.
“Mr. Trudeau’s government is over,” said Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the opposition Bloc Quebecois. “He should recognize that and act accordingly. The departure of his most important ally, his finance minister, is the end of this government.”
Trudeau carried on his father’s star power in 2015, when he reasserted the country’s liberal identity after nearly a decade of Conservative Party rule. But the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s son is now in deep trouble. Canadians have become frustrated with the rising cost of living and other issues such as increased immigration. The Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a country we have to show strength,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “It’s chaos in Ottawa right now.”
Trudeau’s legacy includes opening the door wide to immigration. It also legalized cannabis and introduced a carbon tax aimed at combating climate change.
Freeland said in his resignation letter that Canadians “know when we’re working for them, and they know just as well when we’re focusing on ourselves. Inevitably, our time in government is over.” will go.”
Freeland’s resignation comes as Trudeau tries to recruit Mark Carney to join his government. Carney is a former head of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada.
He was so revered after helping Canada survive the worst global economic crisis that Britain named him the first foreigner to serve as governor of the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694.
Carney has long been interested in entering politics and becoming leader of the Liberal Party. It was not immediately clear whether Carney had agreed to join Trudeau’s cabinet.
“It’s quite a bombshell,” said University of Toronto professor emeritus Nelson Wiseman. “Freeland was not only finance minister but also deputy prime minister and, until a few years ago, was seen as Trudeau’s heir apparent as Liberal leader and prime minister.”
Wiseman said the leaks from the prime minister’s office showed she was a poor communicator and cast Freeland’s position in doubt.
“There was talk of him becoming foreign minister again and that would have suited him, but the backstabbing from the prime minister’s office led to death,” Wiseman said.
Daniel Beland, a professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal, also called it a political earthquake, and not just because Freeland was the second most powerful official in the government.
“The reason for how he resigned: by publishing a letter on social media clearly criticizing the prime minister just hours before he presented the economic statement on the government’s collapse,” Beland said.
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“It’s clearly a minority government on life support but, so far, the (opposition) NDP has rejected calls to pull the plug on it. It’s hard to know if this resignation is the NDP’s strategy. will force a revision.”