Canada’s finance minister resigns over budget row with Trudeau

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s finance minister and one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s closest allies, has resigned.

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She cited differences of opinion with him as the reason for her decision.

“For the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada,” Freeland, who was also the deputy prime minister, said in her resignation letter on Monday.

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“On Friday, you told me that you no longer wanted me as finance minister and offered me another position in the cabinet,” she wrote. “Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me is to resign from the cabinet.”

Canadian media reported that Freeland and Trudeau had clashed over the country’s budgetary policy.

She had spoken out against the tax cuts promised by Trudeau, emphasizing that a more frugal approach was needed in order to respond to the tariffs on Canadian goods announced by US President-elect Donald Trump.

That meant, she wrote, “eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognise the gravity of the moment.”

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She announced her withdrawal just hours before a press conference on the country’s budget was due to take place.

Freeland has long been considered a possible successor to Trudeau, who has been prime minister for nine years.

A new parliament is due to be elected in Canada in October 2025, but Trudeau and his Liberals are currently extremely unpopular in the polls. The centre-left party is facing the threat of major losses.