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canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is reportedly considering resigning following the resignation of his finance minister over disagreements over the matter Donald Trump’s Tariff Threat.
Mr. Trudeau has told cabinet he is considering either resignation or prorogation — the process of ending a parliamentary session — sources told CTV News. He plans to address parliament on Tuesday, the report said.
He is faced with an infected prime minister, elected in 2015 one of the biggest challenges to his power in nearly 10 years. His popularity has declined due to a number of issues during his tenure, including economic problems, housing shortages and immigration issues.
Mr. Trudeau has faced calls from within his own party to resign as Canada is set to hold a federal election next year, before October.
Anger within his party grew on Tuesday after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned. Ms Freeland resigned just hours before she was due to release the country’s first economic plan ahead of a change of administration in America, with Mr Trump, the president-elect, pledging “America First” economic nationalism.
Her scathing resignation letter dealt a huge blow to Mr. Trudeau’s political future and led to growing concerns about his ability to deal with the Trump administration.
Trump has vowed to hit Canada with a 25 percent tariff on imported goods that economists believe would prove damaging to a Canadian economy already reeling under inflation.
The prime minister’s only public comment on Monday came during a holiday party for Liberal donors.
“It was not an easy day,” said Mr. Trudeau in a room full of party supporters, calling it Liberal Party‘s “hardest days”. But he did not say what his next steps would be.
“It is the absolute privilege of my life to serve as your Prime Minister,” continued Mr. Trudeau.
“Canada is the best country on Earth, but it’s not perfect,” he said. “That’s why I wake up every day thinking about how I can make this nation work better for all Canadians.”
In her scathing letter, Ms. Freeland, a former journalist, made public her opposition to Trudeau’s push for short-term spending on voter-pleasing measures that will increase the budget deficit.
She said Mr. Trudeau asked her to take the junior job last Friday after the two argued for weeks over spending.
“Our country is facing a serious challenge today,” she said, apparently referring to Trump’s tariff threat.
“That means we’re keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for the coming tariff war. This means avoiding expensive political tricks, which we can hardly afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.”
She said that “the only fair and sustainable way is for me to resign from the cabinet”.
“To be effective, the minister must speak on behalf of the prime minister and with his full confidence. By making your decision, you have made it clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that trust and the authority that comes with it,” she added.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc – a member of Mr. Trudeau’s inner circle – was soon named finance minister of the minority Liberal government.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre redoubled his calls for the prime minister to resign and said the government was getting out of hand.
“We cannot accept this kind of chaos, division, weakness, while staring down the barrel of 25 percent tariffs on our largest trading partner,” he told reporters.
Trudeau, however, accused Mr. Poilievre of being “actively willing to bet against Canadians and Canada.”
“Pierre Poilievre is not interested in building homes, providing vital support, creating good jobs, or even, as we’ve seen with his opposition to the GST tax breaks, he’s opposed to even tax cuts,” Mr. Trudeau said.
Mr. Trudeau faced frustrated lawmakers at a hastily arranged caucus meeting on Monday after the finance minister’s shock departure.
Ontario Liberal MP Chad Collins, who was part of the meeting, said the party needs new leadership.
“I’m not going to break any confidentiality in terms of what happened at the club, but I can say that we are not unique,” he said. “There are still a certain number of our members who feel that we need a change in leadership. I am one of them.”
Mr. Trudeau won the 2015 election by channeling the star power of his late father and former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and promised “sunny roads” after nearly a decade of Conservative Party rule.
However, it faces growing criticism over inflation, the cost of living and other issues, including immigration.
Canadian 10-year bond yields climbed to their highest level since Nov. 28. The latter rose by 4.2 basis points to 3.2 percent. The Canadian dollar fell to a four-and-a-half-year low of 1.4268 per US dollar before reversing course.