Trudeau to chair Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee amid calls to resign

By David Baxter, The Canadian Press on December 23, 2024.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves after a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Trudeau is chairing a meeting of the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations, amid increasing calls for his resignation.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will chair a meeting of the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations today, amid increasing calls for his resignation.

A mid-day adjustment to Trudeau’s itinerary was issued by the Prime Minister’s Office and notes he will take part in the meeting virtually, though a specific time wasn’t listed.

It’s been a chaotic week for the governing Liberals, starting with Chrystia Freeland’s cabinet resignation just hours after she was set to table the fall economic statement.

Freeland and new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc have previously spoken with the media at the conclusion of these cabinet committee meetings.

The committee was reformed following Donald Trump’s re-election, and a chief topic of discussion at the meetings has been border security after the incoming president threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian products.

Several Liberal MPs publicly called for Trudeau to step down as Liberal leader since Freeland’s resignation, and the NDP has joined the other major opposition parties in saying it no longer has confidence in the minority Liberal government.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2024