Freeland resigns after Trump warns of threat of 25% tariffs
‘Trudeau’s close friends’ include the new finance minister, foreign minister, and former central bank governor.
Trudeau announces resignation due to low approval rating and cabinet conflict
With Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially announcing that he will resign from his position as leader of the ruling Liberal Party, attention is focused on the next prime minister to lead Canada.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 6th (local time), the Prime Minister of Canada also serves as the leader of the Liberal Party, the largest party in the House of Representatives. If elected as the next leader of the Liberal Party, he will also serve as prime minister.
Prime Minister Trudeau said a new leader would be chosen through a vote of party members. To date, no one has declared a candidacy, but current and former ministers of the Trudeau administration are being mentioned as candidates.
First of all, former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who unexpectedly resigned last month after criticizing Prime Minister Trudeau, is expected to run.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Freeland is a former journalist who served as senior editor of the Toronto Globe and Mail and correspondent for the Financial Times and Reuters. My spouse is also a reporter in the NYT culture department.
He returned to Canada in 2013, joined the Liberal Party, and played a key role in the Trudeau government after coming to power in 2015. In particular, he led the follow-up negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during the first administration of Donald Trump.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Freeland clashed with Prime Minister Trudeau over the response to President-elect Trump’s threat of high tariffs, and eventually resigned on the 16th of last month. Prime Minister Trudeau reportedly fired former Deputy Prime Minister Freeland and offered him a ministerial position unrelated to his experience.
In his public resignation letter, former Deputy Prime Minister Freeland criticized, “We must take seriously the threat of 25% tariffs from the next U.S. administration,” and “We must maintain fiscal soundness to secure the reserves necessary for the upcoming tariff war and avoid costly political tricks.” I also did it.
President-elect Trump responded, “His behavior is completely toxic. “It doesn’t help at all in concluding a good deal for Canadians,” he said, without hiding his strong disapproval.
New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, a long-time friend of Prime Minister Trudeau, is also mentioned as a strong candidate.
He is Prime Minister Trudeau’s hometown friend, and they are close enough to greet mourners together at the funeral of his father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, in 2000. Minister LeBlanc’s father, former Canadian Governor-General Romeo LeBlanc, also served as press secretary to his father, former Prime Minister Trudeau.
Secretary LeBlanc was also a member of the Canadian delegation who flew to Mar-a-Lago, Florida and met with the Trump team as soon as President-elect Trump threatened to impose tariffs.
He was first elected as a member of the National Assembly in 2000 and held various positions, including Minister of Public Safety. He also attempted to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party in 2012, but did not put it into action when Prime Minister Trudeau decided to run for office.
Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie is also a strong candidate. He has emphasized a pragmatic diplomatic line and expressed the importance of cooperation with world leaders with different opinions.
Minister Jolie previously told the NYT, “There is a movement that believes that not interacting with other countries means one is strong, but I am completely opposed to this,” adding, “Being strong means being able to have difficult conversations.”
He led Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, is also mentioned. He is a long-time friend of former Deputy Prime Minister Freeland, and their relationship is so close that he is the godfather of one of Freeland’s children.
According to Canadian media, former Governor Carney is contacting Liberal Party members and asking them to provide support and advice if he runs for leadership.
The new leader and prime minister will lead the party and Canada until the general election. The election must be held by October at the latest, and it is highly likely that the general election schedule will be brought forward through a vote in the House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Trudeau held a press conference in Ottawa on this day and officially announced that he would step down as leader of the Liberal Party. He plans to remain as interim prime minister until a new leader is elected.
Prime Minister Trudeau, who had close to 70% support when he took office in 2015, has recently received criticism for failing to deal with high inflation, rising housing prices, and immigration issues, and public opinion has deteriorated significantly.
A market research agency Abacus poll released on the 17th of last month showed Prime Minister Trudeau’s approval rating at 19%.
President-elect Trump, who is about to take office on the 20th, is also being criticized for failing to respond appropriately to his threat to impose a 25% tariff on all imported goods if the inflow of immigrants and drugs is not stopped.
In addition, as conflict within the cabinet and party grew, including the resignation of former Deputy Prime Minister Freeland, he ultimately decided to resign on the 6th.
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