Canada’s Finance Minister resigns over US tariff concerns

Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Canada, has announced her resignation from the finance minister role, citing disagreements with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over policies, particularly those involving potential tariffs from the United States.

In a post on X on December 16, Freeland stated she would continue to serve as a member of Canada’s parliament but stepped down after being offered another position in the government.

She mentioned that both she and Trudeau had “found [themselves] at odds,” particularly regarding U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threats of imposing tariffs on Canadian imports.

Freeland stressed the importance of taking the potential tariffs seriously, adding that "we need to take that threat extremely seriously," and warned against political gimmicks that might undermine Canada's response.

The tariff proposal, which could lead to a trade war, was announced by Trump on November 25, where he vowed to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada.

This spurred a visit by Prime Minister Trudeau to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two leaders described their meeting as "productive."

Freeland, who had been serving as finance minister since 2020 and as deputy prime minister since 2019, also gained attention during the 2022 truckers' protest.

She defended the government’s controversial decision to freeze crypto and fiat donations to the truckers, who were protesting COVID-19 restrictions.

The Canadian government had invoked the Emergencies Act to freeze protesters' bank accounts and monitor “large and suspicious transactions,” which faced criticism for overreach.