In a stunning move, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced her resignation from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet on Monday, after the prime minister told her he no longer wanted her in the top economic post.
After hours of turmoil, longtime Trudeau ally and senior cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc, was sworn-in as her replacement in the finance portfolio, in a ceremony held at Rideau Hall on Monday afternoon.
In Freeland’s absence, Government House Leader Karina Gould tabled the government’s long-anticipated fall economic statement in the House of Commons – on the second last day of the House of Commons fall sitting, without a speech. It showed a deficit of $61.9-billion for 2023-24.
This major shakeup and the political uncertainty it prompted, has revived calls for Trudeau to resign, both from other party leaders and within his own caucus. The prime minister, according to sources, is now said to be considering prorogation, as well as his options as leader.
For around an hour at 5:30 p.m. EST, Trudeau met with his caucus. He could be seen speaking, through a glass wall in the special room his MPs were gathered in, as reporters huddled outside.
It remains unclear what exactly Trudeau had to say, as he’s yet to face reporter questions. Though, Trudeau finally addressed the tumultuous day while speaking at a holiday party for top Liberal donors on Monday night.
“It’s obviously been an eventful day. It has not been an easy day, but I wanted to come here tonight and speak with you dedicated, devoted members of the Liberal Party, because you, not me or any other politician, are the beating heart of this movement,” Trudeau said.
“It is the absolute privilege of my life to serve as your prime minister,” he added, to cheers and applause.
Trudeau then implored the room of Liberal loyalists to enjoy their holidays and recharge so they can come back “ready to show Canadians we have a serious, positive vision for the future of this great country, that is worth fighting for.”
Freeland says Trudeau offered her ‘another position’
In a letter Freeland posted to social media on Monday morning, Freeland said her decision to leave her top ministerial portfolios came after Trudeau offered her “another position in Cabinet.”
“Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the cabinet,” Freeland said in the bombshell letter. “To be effective, a minister must speak on behalf of the prime minister and with his full confidence.”
“In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence,” she added, addressing the prime minister directly.
The two have found themselves “at odds about the best path forward for Canada,” she wrote, an assertion she’s sought to downplay in recent days as reports of fraying tensions between the two top Liberals re-emerged.
The latest round of frustration between their two offices was reportedly connected to disagreements over measures such as the two-month GST/HST pause and the in-limbo $250 workers' benefit cheques, as well as the government’s ability to abide by its fiscal anchors.
In the letter, Freeland notes the looming tariff threat from president-elect Donald Trump and makes the case for that being why Canada needs to keep its “fiscal powder dry,” and why the government should be “eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.”
Freeland said she plans to stay on as a Liberal MP and is “committed” to running again in the next election.
See my letter to the Prime Minister below // Veuillez trouver ma lettre au Premier ministre ci-dessous pic.twitter.com/NMMMcXUh7A
— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) December 16, 2024
“I will always be grateful for the chance to have served in government and I will always be proud of our government’s work for Canada and Canadians,” she said.
This move came hours before Freeland was set to table the fall economic update, which quickly prompted confusion about the path forward.
Mid-afternoon, Finance Canada officials went ahead with an embargoed reading of the major economic blueprint, after hours of uncertainty for the reporters and economic experts gathered at the lockup location.
The 270-page document, billed as “reducing everyday costs and raising wages,” was developed by Freeland, and touts “the government’s prudent fiscal management,” though it also showed the deficit hit far beyond what Freeland had forecast in the last spring budget.
“Justin Trudeau just learned what it’s like to be thrown under the political bus,” said pollster Nik Nanos in an interview on CTV News Channel.
“I can’t envision what Justin Trudeau can do right now to fix this.”
‘Simply cannot go on like this’: Political reaction pours in
The major departure from Trudeau’s front bench also comes ahead of a cabinet shuffle widely expected to be held as early as this week.
LeBlanc moving in to fill a major vacancy will include him moving from co-chair to chair of the special cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations, while juggling several hot files across his current and new ministerial portfolios.
“I guess I’ll start early in the morning and work late at night and probably won’t take a lot of weekends off,” LeBlanc said, when asked how he plans to manage. “It’s an exciting time to have those responsibilities. I don’t diminish for a minute the work that’s before our government.”
When asked whether he believes Trudeau should resign, LeBlanc said the prime minister is focused on the work ahead, listing the cost of living Trump’s incoming administration as examples.
LeBlanc was asked in French whether he knew two-and-a-half weeks ago, when he and Trudeau travelled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump, if the prime minister was considering him to take over the finance portfolio.
“Not at all,” he responded.
And when asked when he was tapped to become finance minister — whether it had been in the works and he was first pick, or because no one else wanted the job — LeBlanc wouldn’t directly answer, saying instead that is a question for the prime minister.
The news of Freeland’s resignation broke just as another top cabinet minister, Sean Fraser, announced his departure, joining several others who have said they won’t be seeking re-election.
In a press conference on Parliament Hill, the Nova Scotia MP said it was for family reasons, but quickly faced a series of questions from reporters about what these successive decisions to step down mean for the fate of Trudeau’s embattled minority government.
“Not knowing her own take on the reasons behind that decision makes it very difficult for me to assess what it may mean, but my sense is that she’s been an excellent team member to work alongside,” Fraser said. “I can only speak for myself… for me, the motivation is not tied to the government, not tied to the prime minister.”
Asked for comment on their way into a pre-set cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill, a few of Freeland’s cabinet colleagues spoke fondly of her.
“I’ll just say that Chrystia Freeland is a good friend… This news has hit me really hard and I’ll reserve further comment until I have time to process it,” said Treasury Board President and Transport Minister Anita Anand.
“I wish her all the best. Look, these are difficult and deeply personal decisions, and you know, obviously she has made — made that decision, and I respect her for it,” said Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu.
Reacting first in a statement, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh – who remains the only federal political leader whose MPs' votes continue to prop up Trudeau’s government – said Freeland’s resignation “shows just how deeply this Liberal government’s members are obsessed with infighting.”
In the statement, he offered no indication the NDP are ready to help trigger an early election, though within a few hours, Singh went in front of reporters to say he was calling for Trudeau to resign.
Asked if he would vote no-confidence in his government, he said “All tools are on the table.”
Also speaking to reporters on Monday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre reiterated his call for a “carbon tax election.”
“Justin Trudeau has lost control, and yet he clings to power,” Poilievre said, later adding, “Ms. Freeland has been Mr. Trudeau’s most trusted minister now for a decade, for nine years. She knows him better than anyone, and she knows that he’s out of control.”
In an accompanying statement, Poilievre said the country “simply cannot go on like this.”
Freeland’s time as Trudeau’s deputy
Freeland — who worked as a journalist and author prior to getting into politics, has been Canada’s deputy prime minister since 2019, and finance minister since 2020.
She’s been in the high-ranking posts as the country grappled with an affordability crisis and high interest rates, and remained steadfast in her economic management amid pushback from some economists who were critical of what they characterized as inflationary federal spending.
Rising tension between the Prime Minister’s Office and Freeland’s office was first reported this summer by the Globe and Mail, citing unnamed sources stating senior officials in Trudeau’s office who were concerned about Freeland’s economic communications chops.
At the time, Trudeau said he had “full confidence” in Freeland, but also confirmed then he’d been courting former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney about entering federal politics.
A few months later, the Liberal Party announced that Carney was joining as a special adviser to serve the chair of a leader’s task force on economic growth.
Freeland’s departure in some ways echoes former finance minister Bill Morneau’s resignation in 2020 — amid the WE Charity scandal — when leaks from the PMO pointed to growing rifts between Morneau and Trudeau, claiming at the time they were over how to spend COVID-19 relief dollars.
While Trudeau insisted at the time he supported Morneau staying on as finance minister, the latter resigned just six days later, and Freeland took over the portfolio. Then too, Trudeau said he was in talks with Carney about playing a key economic role with the Liberal government.
Freeland’s political start
Freeland has been an MP since 2013, when she left journalism to run for political office in the riding of Toronto Centre, during a closely watched byelection to replace former Liberal MP and current Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae.
She was considered a star candidate at the time, having written books focused on foreign affairs, income inequality and eastern Europe, one of which was a New York Times bestseller.
When Trudeau’s Liberals won the 2015 general election, Freeland was elected in the riding of University-Rosedale, and joined cabinet as minister of international trade, a portfolio in which she played a key role in renegotiating NAFTA and helped ink a years-in-the-making Canada-European Union free trade deal.
Following a cabinet shuffle in 2017, Freeland became foreign affairs minister.
Then, after the 2019 election, while also stepping into the intergovernmental affairs minister role, Freeland became deputy prime minister, the first time someone had held that title in cabinet since 2006.
“I see it very much being a Freeland-ish role,” Trudeau said at the time, when asked about the expectations of the title.
Since being elected to Parliament and appointed to cabinet, Freeland has been considered one of Trudeau’s most steadfast supporters and was once widely touted as his potential successor.
With files from CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk