Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has resigned, citing disagreements with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over how to address incoming President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
In a letter to Trudeau, Freeland stated that they were “at odds about the best path forward for Canada” and referred to the “grave challenge” posed by Trump’s “aggressive economic nationalism.”
Her resignation follows Trudeau informing her last week that he no longer wanted her as his economic adviser.
The resignation came just hours before Freeland was scheduled to present an annual fiscal update in parliament, further straining Trudeau’s already fragile minority government.
Freeland’s departure adds to mounting pressure on Trudeau, whose approval rating has sharply dropped from 63% at the time of his election to 28% in June. Following her resignation, five Liberal MPs publicly urged Trudeau to step down.
An emergency caucus meeting was scheduled after Freeland’s announcement, and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, a close ally of Trudeau, was appointed as her replacement.
Freeland has stated she will remain an MP and seek re-election in the upcoming election, which must take place by October.
Her resignation follows that of Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who announced he would not seek re-election to focus on family.
