News broke early Monday morning that Chrystia Freeland had resigned as Finance Minister, and Deputy Premier, but would continue to serve as the Member of Parliament for her riding of University-Rosedale. The announcement, which was accompanied by a letter from Freeland to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that was described as a scathing rebuke of the direction the federal government is going in, came as a surprise to many across the nation, including Souris-Moose Mountain MP Dr. Robert Kitchen.
“It’s a statement about the fact that she doesn’t have confidence in this Prime Minister, just like Canadians don’t have confidence in this Prime Minister,” Kitchen said of the resignation.
The Conservative MP also noted the timing of the resignation.
“She was the Finance Minister and had indicated that yesterday there would be a fall economic statement that would be made at 4 o’clock, and she resigns in the morning of that fall economic statement,” Kitchen pointed out. “What does that say? What does it present to Canadians about what is being presented in this budget?”
The fall economic statement was tabled yesterday, showing the deficit for last year will be $61.9 billion, Kitchen noted, adding the budget for 2025 will be over $48 billion, higher than projected in past budgets and economic statements.