Missed the political tumult in Ottawa? Here’s how it happened, day by day – National
Chrystia Freeland’s resignation as Canada’s finance minister and deputy prime minister triggered a week of political turmoil, with continuing calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign.
If you missed the week’s news, here’s a timeline of what played out politically in Ottawa.
On Monday, less than one hour before the scheduled start of a lock-up of journalists set to read the fall economic statement, Chrystia Freeland announced that she had stepped down as finance minister.
She was not the only minister to leave cabinet as Sean Fraser announced he would not be seeking re-election next year and would step down as housing minister.
Freeland announced her dramatic departure in a letter she shared on the social media website X (formerly known as Twitter) just after 9 a.m. eastern.
In the letter addressed to Trudeau, Freeland wrote, “On Friday, you informed me that you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister and offered me another position in Cabinet.”
“Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from Cabinet,” she added.
Freeland noted that in recent weeks, she has found herself increasingly “at odds” with Trudeau.
Her announcement led to hours of uncertainty, with a lack of clarity on whether the fall economic statement would be tabled at all.
Department of Finance officials confirmed just after 1:30 p.m. eastern that the fall economic statement would be delivered as scheduled at 4 p.m. eastern Monday.
Government House leader Karina Gould tabled it in the House of Commons.
At the same time Gould was tabling the fall economic statement, longtime Liberal cabinet member Dominic LeBlanc added the finance portfolio to his responsibilities.
LeBlanc, who has served in cabinet since 2015 and been a Liberal MP since 2000, was sworn in to the role at Rideau Hall on Monday, becoming minister of finance and intergovernmental affairs.
The turmoil spurred renewed criticism from opposition parties, with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — whose party is currently keeping the Liberals in power — calling on Trudeau to step down.
Singh said Canadians were facing a range of economic issues from expensive groceries to high home prices and the threat of tariffs from an incoming Trump administration next year.
“Instead of focusing on these issues, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are focused on themselves. They’re fighting themselves instead of fighting for Canadians. And for that reason, today, I’m calling on Justin Trudeau to resign,” Singh said.
“He has to go.”
The minority Liberals have survived recent tests of confidence with support from the NDP.
Conservatives repeatedly called in question period on Monday for Trudeau to either test the confidence of the House of Commons, or go to Rideau Hall and ask the Governor General for a snap election.
“Justin Trudeau has lost control and yet he clings to power,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in remarks outside the House of Commons just before question period.
Trudeau addressed the Liberal caucus later that evening.
Most Liberal MPs did not answer questions from reporters as they exited the meeting, saying that what happens in caucus is confidential.
Ruby Sahota said Trudeau had her full support and James Maloney said the prime minister had the confidence of caucus. But Chad Collins, who publicly called for the prime minister to resign on Monday, disagreed.
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“We’re not united. There’s still a number of our members who feel we need a change in leadership. I’m one of those,” he said.
Later Monday night, Trudeau attended a holiday party for the Laurier Club, made up of Liberal donors.
Members of Parliament began their holiday break on Tuesday, capping off a tumultuous fall sitting filled with non-confidence votes, filibusters, stalled legislation, a growing deficit and the finance minister’s resignation.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Trudeau would be reflecting on what he heard at the Liberal caucus.
“A number of caucus colleagues have said that the prime minister has said that he will reflect on both the decision that minister Freeland made, but also what he’s heard from members of his own caucus,” Wilkinson said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“I think we all need to give him a little time to reflect, and I respect that fact that he’s going to take some time to reflect.”
Speaking at the Liberal caucus annual Christmas party, Trudeau tried to pitch a message of unity.
“Like most families, sometimes we have fights around the holidays. But of course, like most families, we find our way through it,” he said.
Several former cabinet ministers called for Trudeau to go, including former environment minister Catherine McKenna on Tuesday.
“Every Liberal MP should be calling on the prime minister to resign,” she said in a post on social media. “The surest way to elect a Conservative majority and lose all the progress we’ve made is for him to stay. And we need to focus on tariff threat from the U.S. It’s over.”
By Wednesday, the chorus for Trudeau to resign grew louder within the Liberal caucus.
New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin joined those calls Wednesday, telling the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal she will not run again unless Trudeau resigns.
On Wednesday, New Brunswick MP Wayne Long, who was among the first MPs to call for Trudeau to resign earlier this year, wrote to the entire caucus calling the “mishandling” of Freeland’s resignation “embarrassing” and “an indictment of the chaos and insularity within the Prime Minister’s inner circle.”
Long said it should be a “glaring wake-up call” and encouraged all MPs to speak up about the need for Trudeau to go to save the party from a “historic defeat.”
On Thursday, Trudeau received support from newly appointed Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
LeBlanc, who was in New Brunswick, was asked during a press conference if Trudeau has the full support of his cabinet to stay on after the political tumult within the government in recent days since the sudden resignation of Freeland.
“Yes,” LeBlanc said in response.
LeBlanc was also asked if he would consider an opportunity to lead the country if he were given the chance.
“If the prime minister has the full support of his cabinet, then why would we contemplate what happens after he decides to leave?” he said.
Justice Minister Arif Virani, who held a press conference earlier on Thursday morning in Toronto, did not directly say whether Trudeau enjoys his confidence to continue as prime minister.
“I have absolute confidence in his orientation towards the work that he has given me to do,” Virani said.
On Friday morning, Singh said his party will put forward a “clear motion of non-confidence” in the next sitting of the House of Commons that could bring down the Liberal government.
“The Liberals don’t deserve another chance. That’s why the NDP will vote to bring this government down, and give Canadians a chance to vote for a government who will work for them,” Singh wrote in a letter shared publicly on Friday morning.
The NDP leader’s letter goes on to criticize Trudeau and his government, saying the prime minister “can’t fix health care,” build affordable homes or lower bills, and that Singh has “always fought for the people.”
That letter came out shortly before Trudeau reshuffled his cabinet on Friday.
Eight new ministers were sworn in and four other existing cabinet members were reassigned at a ceremony at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall.
Ottawa-area MP David McGuinty — the brother of former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty — is the new public safety minister, replacing Dominic LeBlanc.
Élisabeth Brière becomes the new national revenue minister, replacing Marie-Claude Bibeau.
Terry Duguid replaces Carla Qualtrough as the sport minister.
Toronto-area MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who has said he does not plan to run again, is the new housing minister.
Darren Fisher is the new minister of veterans affairs and the associate minister of national defence.
Ruby Sahota will take on the dual role of minister for democratic institutions and the minister responsible for the federal economic development agency for southern Ontario.
The new seniors minister is Joanne Thompson.
Rachel Bendayan was sworn in as the official languages minister and associate minister of public safety.
Anita Anand, who will continue her role as transport minister, will now also take on internal trade.
Gary Anandasangaree, who is minister of Crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs, will take on the additional role of the minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon will now also take over the portfolio of employment and workforce development.
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, previously the veterans affairs minister, has now been appointed president of the Treasury Board, a role that Anand had held.
—with files from The Canadian Press.
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