By Abiola Olawale
The Finance Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland, has announced her resignation from her cabinet position on Monday, December 16, 2024.
Freeland, in her resignation, said she decided after a disagreement with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over policy, “particularly how to handle the economic implications of potential U.S. tariffs under the incoming administration of Donald Trump.”
Freeland criticized Trudeau’s approach, describing his push for increased spending as a “political gimmick” that could undermine Canada’s ability to address the tariff threats seriously.
The New Diplomat reports that the resignation also came before she was scheduled to present a fall economic statement, which was expected to reveal a larger-than-anticipated budget deficit for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Following her resignation, Dominic LeBlanc was swiftly appointed as the new Finance Minister.
With her resignation, Trudeau is expected to immediately brief LeBlanc who is also expected to navigate both domestic economic issues and international trade relations with the US under the incoming administration of Trump.
It would be recalled that Trump has promised to impose a levy of 25% on imported Canadian goods, which economists have warned would significantly hurt Canada’s economy.
