Political Turmoil in Canada Escalates as PM Trudeau Faces Renewed Resignation Demands
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Toronto, Dec 17 (NationPress) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is encountering renewed calls for his resignation just hours after Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland unexpectedly stepped down due to her disagreement with him regarding US President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats.
A significant portion of the ruling Liberal Party, with nearly a third of its MPs, is advocating for a leadership change, exacerbating the existing political turmoil in the nation.
Reports from Canadian media on Monday evening indicated that Trudeau is yet to make a decision on whether he will remain in his role as Prime Minister or step down. The number of rebellious MPs pushing for his removal has surged to almost 60 out of the 153-member caucus in the House of Commons.
Freeland's resignation as Canada's Finance Minister represents the first notable dissent against Trudeau from within his cabinet, posing a significant threat to his political standing.
Trudeau, who leads the Liberal Party, is trailing by 20 points in the polls behind his principal competitor, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who has made three attempts since September to destabilize the Trudeau government and instigate a snap election.
In her resignation letter shared on the social media platform X, Freeland remarked, "Our country today faces a grave challenge," referring to Trump's proposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports.
"In recent weeks, you and I have encountered significant differences regarding the best course of action for Canada," she stated in her resignation letter.
Freeland, who was first elected to Parliament in 2013, joined Trudeau's cabinet two years later following the Liberals' electoral victory, where she held various crucial positions including trade and foreign minister, leading free trade negotiations with both the EU and the United States.
Most recently, she had been assigned the task of spearheading Canada's response to the anticipated actions of the incoming Trump administration.
The United States is Canada's primary trading partner, with approximately 75 percent of its exports directed towards its southern neighbor.
In her resignation letter, Freeland indicated that Trudeau aimed to reassign her to a different role, to which she responded, "I have concluded that the only honest and viable course is for me to resign from the cabinet."
As the finance minister, she stressed the importance of taking Trump's tariff threats "extremely seriously," warning that it could potentially lead to a "tariff war" with the United States, and emphasized that Ottawa must maintain its "fiscal powder dry."
