Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced her resignation. On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told her that he no longer needs her as finance minister but instead wants her in “another position in the cabinet” according to a letter Freeland posted on “X” (formerly Twitter).
“After careful consideration, it appears to me as the only honest and right decision to step down from the cabinet” Freeland wrote. “To be able to work effectively, a minister needs the full backing of the prime minister. With your decision, you have made it clear that I no longer enjoy that trust and the associated authority” Freeland said.
“We have not been in agreement on the country’s course in recent weeks. We are facing an enormous challenge with the upcoming Trump administration in the US, with the threat of 25% tariffs. We must take this threat extremely seriously” she emphasized. “We need to balance our expenses to be prepared for a possible ‘tariff war.’ There is no room for ‘expensive political games’.”
“Our time in government will inevitably end” the minister said. “But the way we handle the current threat will define us for a generation, perhaps even longer.”
Despite her resignation, she plans to continue her work in parliament and run for a seat in Toronto in the next elections, she concluded.
In recent weeks, discontent with the government had been growing in the Canadian population. High food and energy prices, and unaffordable housing, as well as weeks of railway strikes, are said to be affecting the mood of voters.