Freeland leaves position of Canada's Finance Minister and writes letter to Trudeau
Chrystia Freeland (photo: facebook.com/freelandchrystia)
Chrystia Freeland has stepped down from her position as Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister following disputes with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The disagreements were rooted in concerns over a potential trade war with the US after Donald Trump's arrival at the White House, according to an open letter to Trudeau published by Freeland on social media platform X.
According to the official, Justin Trudeau withdrew his trust by suggesting that she leave her position and take on another 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. Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the Cabinet. 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 and possess the authority that comes with it," Freeland wrote.
The politician explained that in recent weeks, she and Prime Minister Trudeau had several disagreements about Canada's future direction. This included discussions about the potential imposition of a 25% punitive tariff on Canadian goods by newly elected President Trump.
"We need to take that threat extremely seriously. That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. 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 emphasized.
Regarding her future political plans, Freeland stated that she intends to run in the next parliamentary elections.
US President-elect Donald Trump plans to impose strict trade tariffs on Canada. For more details, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised President-elect Donald Trump that he would strengthen control over the unsecured shared border. Reuters reported at the time that Trump's victory and his return to the White House on January 20 could lead to economic challenges and difficult decisions for Trudeau, who was once labeled by Republicans as an extreme left-wing radical.
