Freeland quits cabinet hours before economic update

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced she’s resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, after she says he told her he no longer wanted her in the top economic post.

In a letter Freeland posted to social media on Monday morning, Freeland said this decision 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.

“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 comes hours before Freeland was set to table the fall economic update, raising new questions about next steps.

Reporters and economic experts gathered at the location of the lockup waited to hear when the embargoed economic statement documents would be released, in light of the major political development. It was eventually announced there would be an indefinite postponement.

According to an announcement nearly an hour and a half after the Department of Finance was set to begin handing out the document, officials were “still awaiting further direction” from Trudeau’s government.

It remains unclear how long the delay may be, or how Trudeau plans to unveil the significant financial document in Freeland’s stead. The document was slated to be tabled at 4 p.m. ET, on the second last day of the House of Commons fall sitting.

“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.”

Political reaction streams 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.

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.

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.”

“Canadians are sick and tired of watching government after government put themselves, their friends and corporate giants first. People deserve a government that fights for you for a change,” Singh said. Though in the statement he offered no indication the NDP are ready to help trigger an early election.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre – who was supposed to speak to reporters earlier Monday before Freeland’s letter was released – is now expected to speak at 12:15 p.m. EST.

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 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