The latest:
- Freeland says PM told her Friday he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister
- She will stay on as Liberal MP
- No word on who will deliver fall economic statement
In a shocking move, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Monday she’s resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, just hours before she was set to deliver the government’s fall economic statement.
It’s a disastrous development that throws the government’s economic agenda into a tailspin and leaves a huge gap on Trudeau’s front bench at a time when Liberal Party support has collapsed in the polls.
Freeland’s move to leave just before tabling the economic statement — the government’s fiscal road map at a time of great uncertainty, as Canada stares down president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threat — is unprecedented.
In a letter to Trudeau that was subsequently posted on her social media account, Freeland said she had no choice but to resign after the prime minister approached her on Friday about moving her to another cabinet role.
“On Friday, you told me you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister and offered me another position in the cabinet,” Freeland wrote, addressing Trudeau. “Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the cabinet.”
A senior government official told CBC News that Freeland’s announcement was not expected today.
It’s unclear if the fall economic statement will go ahead given Freeland’s departure — officials at the media lockup where journalists were expected to read the document under embargo were scrambling to figure out what to do given the person who was set to present it had just abruptly quit.
Sounds alarm over Trump tariff threat
In her letter to Trudeau, Freeland said that Canada “faces a grave challenge” and referenced Trump’s threat to impose a punishing 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods.
“That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war,” Freeland wrote.
She signalled that she doesn’t think the economic path Canada is on under Trudeau’s leadership is a prudent one.
“That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.”
Freeland did not specify in her letter what “costly political gimmicks” means.
It could be a thinly veiled swipe at Trudeau’s plan to freeze the GST/HST for two months on some goods and send $250 cheques to all working people sometime in the new year.
The finance minister also urged Trudeau to work “in good faith and humility” with provincial and territorial premiers to build a “true Team Canada response.”
“I know Canadians would recognize and respect such an approach,” Freeland wrote. “They know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves.
“Inevitably, our time in government will come to an end,” Freeland went on. “But how we deal with the threat our country currently faces will define us for a generation, and perhaps longer. Canada will win if we are strong, smart, and united.”
Freeland wrote that she “will always be grateful” for the chance to serve in government and “will always be proud” of the Liberal government’s work for Canada and Canadians.
While stepping back from cabinet, Freeland told Trudeau she would stay on as Liberal MP and plans to run again under the party banner in the next federal election.
The finance minister’s resignation came moments after Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced he won’t seek re-election. Fraser said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Outgoing Housing Minister Sean Fraser was asked Monday about his colleague Chrystia Freeland’s social media post, in which Freeland said she will no longer serve in cabinet after being asked to leave her post as finance minister.
When asked about Freeland’s resignation, Fraser said that he considers her “a friend, and that friendship will continue long after my time in politics.”
“My sense is that she’s been an excellent team member to work alongside,” Fraser added.