With Donald Trump‘s proposed tariffs looming as Canadian citizens currently face their own economic crisis, there have been growing calls for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down ahead of federal elections in 2025.
According to Jessica Corbett of Common Dreams, members of Trudeau’s own Liberal Party joined a growing caucus that also included Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre, and New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh in urging Trudeau to step down as PM everyday living prices continue to skyrocket in Canada.
“Today, I’m calling on Justin Trudeau to resign. He has to go,” said Singh. “Right now, Canadians are struggling with the cost of living. I hear it everywhere I go. People cannot find a home that they can afford. They can’t buy their groceries. And on top of that, we have Trump threatening tariffs at 25%, which put hundreds [of] thousands of Canadian jobs at risk.”
“And instead of focusing on these issues, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals focused on themselves,” he continued. “They’re fighting themselves instead of fighting for Canadians. For that reason, today, I’m calling on Justin Trudeau to resign. He has to go.”
Trudeau, though, was defiant against the calls during a party meeting on Monday as he sought to appoint Dominic LeBlanc as the country’s new finance minister after Chrystia Freeland resigned. Additionally, Freeland drafted a searing letter warning the Canadian public of the potentially economically devastating Trump tariffs amid her resignation.
In the letter, Freeland talks of Trump’s proposed 25 percent tariff and pushing back against “‘America First’ economic nationalism” while seemingly building their own nationalistic response.
As Freeman and Trudeau were at odds with Canada’s path forward ahead of the new Trump administration in the United States, at least one member of the Canadian Parliament framed the situation not as Freeland leaving on her own terms but rather as the Prime Minister forcing her out.
When asked about the timing of Freeland’s resignation, NDP MP Charlie Angus didn’t mince words.
“What the f–k? How does a prime minister, on the eve of a statement that we’ve been waiting for for months, deep-six his finance minister and think that things are going to be normal?” Angus said.
“We’ve got a prime minister missing in action and now his deputy prime minister, his finance minister has jumped ship. The prime minister needs to show up and explain how this gong show is allowed to happen.”
CBC
