President-elect Donald Trump delighted in the shock resignation of a top Canadian cabinet minister on Monday evening, calling her “toxic” and “not at all conducive to making deals for the very unhappy citizens of Canada.”
Chrystia Freeland stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government earlier in the day.
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In a letter to Trudeau that she made public, Freeland blasted him for allegedly being ill-prepared for a potential trade war with a tariff-happy Trump administration.
She pointed to Trudeau’s alleged fixation on political “gimmicks” that could leave the country open to economic shocks as it faces Trump’s “aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25 percent 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,” Freeland wrote to her boss, noting she would stay on as a backbench member of the ruling Liberal Party. “That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.”
One “gimmick” she was likely referring to is a two-month suspension of sales tax on several goods intended to ease the rising cost-of-living, set to run through mid-February and which could cost the federal government up to CAD$2.7 billion ($1.9 billion).
A former financial journalist, Freeland was a regular on Morning Joe and CNBC where she likely came to the attention of TV-obsessed Trump. She was a crucial envoy to the first Trump administration, during which she held the International Trade and Foreign Affairs portfolios and served as one of Canada’s lead negotiators on the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade agreement at Trump’s behest.
Shortly after Freeland blasted her party leader, Trump volleyed insults.
“Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals which are good for the very unhappy citizens of Canada,” he wrote in a Truth Social Post. “She will not be missed!!!”
Freeland was replaced as Finance Minister by Minister of Public Safety and Trudeau loyalist Dominic LeBlanc, who visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida late last month along with the prime minister.
The two were part of a delegation that tried to dissuade Trump from pursuing his plans to slap 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, which could significantly rewire two of the world’s largest trading relationships.
Trump joked at the event that Canada could become the 51st state and has since nicknamed Trudeau “Governor,” something he continued with Monday.
Governor or not, Trump may soon find himself dealing with a different Canadian leader. A Canadian election must be held by October 25, 2025 and Trudeau’s Liberals are badly trailing in the polls to the rival Conservative Party led by Pierre Poilievre, who public surveys also suggest Canadians believe is best suited to deal with Trump.
Freeland’s resignation led to widespread speculation in Ottawa on Monday that Trudeau could be forced to step down and allow a new Liberal leader to fight the next election. He was already facing calls from some backbench members of his caucus to quit after nearly a decade in power.
Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the left-wing New Democratic Party that Trudeau’s Liberals rely on for support in the House of Commons, called on him to resign Monday.
Tari Ajadi, a political scientist at Montréal’s McGill University, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that Freeland’s departure has effectively left Trudeau leading a “zombie government.”
“It’s not a matter of if, but when, things eventually do fall apart,” he added.
