OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:43 PM – Tuesday, December 17, 2024
With calls for his resignation coming from all sides of Parliament, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau started the week in a battle for his job.
Chrystia Freeland, the Finance Minister, resigned on Monday in protest.
Freeland was once regarded as a strong supporter of Trudeau, and the finance minister is second in command behind the prime minister. Freeland resigned just hours before her presentation of the upcoming fiscal year plan and national budget was due. She mentioned disputes dating back to the fall in her letter to Trudeau.
She added that on Friday, Trudeau instructed her to leave her role as finance minister and take a different cabinet post.
“Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the Cabinet,” Freeland explained.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister of public safety, was elevated by Trudeau to the position of finance minister, succeeding Freeland. LeBlanc stated that he and Trudeau would discuss the cost of living in Canada and try to find areas of agreement with Trump in relation to tariffs.
Trudeau spoke briefly at a liberal caucus meeting in the evening on Monday. He contrasted his goals with those of the Conservative Party in his speech, acknowledging some recent challenges but urging Canadians to still support him.
Trudeau also later posted on X on Tuesday, touting talking points that the American mainstream media has labeled as “Trumpian.”
“We’re stepping up to keep our border strong and secure: By deploying new helicopters, drones, and surveillance tools. By adding new scanners and sniffer dog teams to stop and seize fentanyl. By cracking down on the money laundering that’s funding cross-border crime,” the PM posted.
Conservative lawmakers began calling for Trudeau to start the resignation process in October.
On Monday, MPs from various parties brought those cries back to life. Liberal MP Francis Drouin told Canadian publication True North that although he had previously supported Trudeau, he no longer saw a path forward without his departing.
Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader, asserted that Trudeau’s leadership was unmanageable.
Poilievre demanded a new election on Monday. In addition, the leader of the Quebec Nationalist Party Bloc Québécois, MP Yves-François Blanchet, also demanded an election and asked Trudeau to dissolve the government in the coming year.
Following President-elect Donald Trump’s warnings of 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, Canadian politicians have been at odds for weeks. Freeland described Trump’s policies as militant economic nationalism in her letter of resignation.
Trump declared last month that on his first day in office, he will put tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. According to him, the action would compel those nations to deal with drug smuggling and illegal immigration into the U.S., which has been an ongoing issue. On November 30th , Trudeau also visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for what the two leaders later described as a fruitful discussion.
To debate the tariffs, the 13 provincial and territorial premiers of Canada convened on Monday. Additionally, they were anticipating Freeland’s remarks regarding the federal government’s financial situation and reaction to Trump.
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