Chrystia Freeland resigns in a blaze of glory

Chrystia Freeland delivered more than a resignation on Monday; she sent a message even Justin Trudeau might have to hear.

Chrystia Freeland, credit: Chrystia Freeland on X

It’s been said that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland was the heir apparent for the Liberal leadership, and the leader of Canada and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has sought to afford her opportunities so that she could easily step into the role at some point in the future.

That was before they disagreed, apparently.

In a move that shocked political classes, but more importantly, the Prime Minister, Ms. Freeland published her resignation letter on social media early Monday morning.

Dear Prime Minister,

It has been the honour of my life to serve in government, working for Canada and Canadians. We have accomplished a lot together.

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 I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence and possess the authority that comes with it.

For the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada.

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 Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.

That means pushing back against ‘America First’ economic nationalism with a determined effort to fight for capital and investment and the jobs they bring. That means working in good faith and humility with the Premiers of the province and territories of our great and diverse country, and building a true Team Canada response.

I know Canadians would recognize and respect such an approach. They know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves. Inevitably, our time in government will come to an end. But how we deal with the threat our country currently faces will define us for a generation, and perhaps longer. Canada will win if we are strong, smart, and united.

It is this conviction which has driven my strenuous efforts this fall to manage our spending in ways that will give us the flexibility we will need to meet the serious challenges presented by the United States.

I will always be grateful for the chance to have served in government and I will always be proud of government’s work for Canada and Canadians.

I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues as a Liberal Member of Parliament, and I am committed to running again for my seat in the next federal election.

With gratitude,

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P.

The ripples fanned outward for the next couple of hours.

It’s always big news when a Finance Minister resigns, but the timing on this one was calculated for maximum effect.

As Ms. Freeland says, the Prime Minister told her on Friday that he no longer wanted her to serve as Finance Minister, but did offer her a portfolio-less role leading U.S.-Canada relations. Friday was also the day that National Post columnist John Ivison ended up with a “scoop” that Ms. Freeland wanted to cancel the federal government’s $250 rebate for “working Canadians” in January.

Yet, she waited until Monday morning and did not send a copy of her resignation to the Prime Minister first.

The letter was posted on social media at 9:07 AM, EST, reportedly moments before a Cabinet meeting (which she did not attend), and while many journalists were gathered in an embargoed information session awaiting a pre-announcement on the economic statement that, as Finance Minister, Ms. Freeland was set to deliver later.

She wasn’t the only one. Housing Minister Sean Fraser also formally resigned his role, saying that he will not run again, though his reasons were personal, rather than professional.

No matter how you look at it, Ms. Freeland’s resignation managed to be bigger than those before simply because the Prime Minister expected she would still give the fall economic statement afterwards, which ensured all eyes were already on the office, and Ms. Freeland, that day — ensuring the news would reach everyone who was interested as well as those who weren’t.

Ms. Freeland’s actions said more than any number of backbench MP’s signing a letter asking the Prime Minister to step down, and it was a statement he cannot ignore as he has so many others.

Playing politics in the finger bowls

Shout out to former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney who, before he became premier, once said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “has the political depth of a finger bowl.”

For far too long, many have pointed to the communications and political strategy of the team of staffers — who are supposed to make these things look easy — as the problem. Yet, as a campaign strategist told me, “you can give them all the guidance in the world but in the end, the candidate is the candidate.”

Chrystia Freeland delivered the strongest rebuke of the direction the Prime Minister is taking thus far.

Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Official Opposition, was ready to pounce, as always. Though seriously; “it is time… for a carbon tax election,” really stood out as someone else who was not reading the room.

In his defence, now that Mr. Poilievre will be facing Donald Trump’s tariffs rather than Mr. Trudeau’s dismal approval ratings, ending the carbon tax is pretty much the only promise he will be able to deliver.

Under Trump’s tariffs, Canadians who thought they were struggling while receiving bigger rebates than they paid out in carbon taxes are about to discover what financial hardship really is.

And no, Mr. Trudeau can’t stop them any more than Mr. Poilievre can; the Trump tariffs aren’t about us, or our Prime Minister; they’re about making it more expensive for companies to take advantage of cheap labour outside of the U.S. borders.

Again, something that has less to do with Canada as our labour sells for more than $4.23/hour — the 2024 rate after three years of incremental increases won by the union representing GM’s Silao plant workers in Mexico.

GM saw a net income of $10.1 billion on $171.8 billion in revenue in 2023, a number that would certainly be lower if they were forced to relocate all of their production back into the U.S., but will also take a hit with the Trump tariffs.

Mr. Trump offered his hot take on the situation, saying “she will not be missed!!!”

As a friend (confidant? Intimate partner? Stan?) of Russia, Mr. Trump has not been a fan of Ms. Freeland, who has been both outspoken, and active, in her defence of Ukraine.

This is something that the Prime Minister should have known, if not at least picked up on, since Russia invaded Ukraine. Asking her to lead Canada-U.S. relations was setting her up for a far greater failure than delivering a bad news fall economic statement.

Hence, my shout out above to Mr. Kenney, which is also a segue to the next politician, who is still trying to decide whether he wants to dip his toe into that finger bowl.

Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s NDP struggled to find something productive to add when he spoke with reporters Monday. That is to say, he was unsuccessful. Singh said “Justin Trudeau should resign” and “everything (within the NDP’s power) is on the table”, which is something productive that the Prime Minister can do, and essentially nothing different for the NDP at all.

I would very much appreciate if whomever is offering political advice to Chrystia Freeland would lend some to Jagmeet Singh because this is just sad.

Are we awaiting another resignation?

That wasn’t meant to be rhetorical, but I figured the Prime Minister would have made a graceful exit by spring of 2024, and there have been far more calls for it from people whose opinion matters more to the PM than mine.

If Trudeau had any realistic expectations of what is coming, he would let Poilievre have the floor.

He’s heading for a loss that could rival the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada’s in 1993. Even if Poilievre said he was going to sell Canada to Trump for a few million, I don’t think it would change the outcome of the next election.

Swing voters (people who vote but who have not made an oath of loyalty to a political party) determine elections, and the movement has been great enough that I expect the only votes the Liberal Party of Canada will receive is from people who know and respect their representative (it happens), and people who are loyal enough to show up and vote for their party even when they know they’re going to lose.

Mr. Trudeau has earned the right to choose when he leaves, it’s true, but somehow he has yet to accept that it’s the right thing to do for himself, his party, and, ultimately, for Canada.

It looks as if it might be time for Mr. Trudeau to abandon the fight he appears destined to lose and let some fresh faces take on the problems of the next four years. They won’t do any worse with Trump because Trump doesn’t care about Canada. Sure, it might be worse for Canadians, but there’s nothing Trudeau can do about that either — public opinion has taken a side.

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