Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland quits Trudeau govt, warns against ‘costly political gimmicks’

Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned on Monday — hours before she was slated to deliver a statement on the economy. The Deputy PM also flagged the “grave challenge” that Canada now faces from “aggressive economic nationalism” in the United States in her resignation letter. Freeland — considered to be Justin Trudeau’s most powerful and loyal minister — noted that she had found herself at odds with the Prime Minister in recent weeks. 

“Our country today faces a grave challenge. The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25 per cent tariffs. 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,” her resignation letter added.

The Deputy PM  also revealed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had offered her a different Cabinet position after deciding she would no longer serve as Finance Minister.

(With inputs from agencies)