Fiscal update in limbo after Freeland quits as finance minister

By Kyle Duggan and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press on December 16, 2024.

Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks at a press conference in Ottawa on November 19, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

OTTAWA – The Liberal government’s plans to unveil a fall economic update today have been thrown into disarray by the finance minister’s abrupt resignation.

Chrystia Freeland released a letter this morning announcing her decision to step aside after she and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada.”

Freeland’s letter cites the threat of tariffs from incoming U.S. president Donald Trump and says she made “strenuous efforts this fall to manage our spending” to counter that threat.

But, she says, Trudeau’s decision to offer her a different cabinet post on Friday has shown a lack of confidence in her as minister and she’s stepped away from cabinet altogether.

Media and stakeholders were gathered in Ottawa this morning to receive embargoed copies of the fall economic statement, but the documents have not been handed out.

Freeland was also set to present the fiscal update in the House of Commons later today, but it is not clear if another cabinet minister will step in and present the statement or if it will be postponed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2024.