Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing mounting pressure to resign after one of his top minister’s abruptly stepped down Monday, leaving his political foes to conclude he’s “lost control of everything.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland quit Monday and offered some choice words on Trudeau’s handling of President-elect Donald Trump’s looming tariffs — providing fresh fodder for critics of the unpopular prime minister.
“For the last number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds over the best path forward for Canada,” Freeland wrote in her resignation letter posted on X.
Freeland referenced the need for Canada to be ready should Trump employ the 25% tariffs that he has threatened to implement.
“That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford,” she wrote.
Freeland, once deemed “minister of everything” for Trudeau, received a standing ovation when she walked into a room of members of parliament following the announcement of her resignation, sources told the Toronto Star.
Now, as many as 45 MPs have signed a letter demanding Trudeau step down, up from 24, the Toronto Star reported.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has his eyes on becoming prime minister himself, called out Trudeau and the Liberal party for becoming a “circus.”
“The real consequences of yesterday’s clown show are playing out in tragedies right across this country,” Poilievre said, according to the National Post.
“Justin Trudeau has lost control of everything,” Poilievre added.
Bloc Quebecois leader Yves- Francois Blanchet is also calling for Trudeau to put personal ambition aside for the sake of the nation.
“We must put an end as quickly as possible to the very bad spectacle that we are giving internationally about the way Canada is preparing to face discussions with the Americans,” Blanchet said, the National Post reports.
Both Poilievre and Blanchet are calling for an election in early 2025.
Political allies of the beleaguered prime minister are saying that Trudeau needs times for self-reflection.
“I think what the prime minister has to think about is does he have the right vision for the country?,” said Montreal MP Francis Scarpaleggia, according to the National Post.
MP Peter Fragiskatos had a similar message, harping on Trudeau’s need for self-examination.
“At the heart of [Trudeau’s] reflection needs to be a view that says that no individual is bigger than the country,” Fragiskatos told reporters, the National Post reports.
These tepid statements come on the heels of a blowout Conservative party win in a “byelection” in British Columbia — where the right-leaning candidate Tamara Jansen won by a whopping 50 point margin on Monday.
Trudeau is expected to address supporters at the Liberal party’s holiday party on Tuesday evening.
There is no mechanism for Trudeau’s party to force him out of office presently, but a “no confidence” vote in Parliament would trigger an election, according to the Associated Press.
The “governor of Canada” has been in the crosshairs of Trump — with Trudeau coming to loggerheads with the incoming Trump administration who is keen to kick off new trade policies by levying tariffs on the nation’s northern neighbor.
