(Ottawa) Justin Trudeau reportedly announced to Chrystia Freeland that he was stripping her of her Finance portfolio without even having the assurance that Mark Carney would replace her.
Published at 5:00 a.m.
Before speaking to his number two on Zoom on Friday, the Prime Minister would have offered the position of Minister of Finance to the former governor of the Bank of Canada.
The latter, however, would not have accepted the offer definitively, indicated to The Press a source familiar with the interactions that have taken place since Friday.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada
“He was to give an answer on Monday. What he did,” said the same person, according to whom Mark Carney remains “really interested in serving Canada.”
The information matches that communicated by a government source to The Press Friday evening, after the discussion between Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland. “The discussions are very serious. Mark Carney is thinking. Nothing is certain yet. But this will affect the ministerial reshuffle,” confided this reliable source who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing negotiations.
In an article published Tuesday afternoon, the Globe and Mail reports for its part, citing three liberal sources, that Justin Trudeau bluntly announced to Mme Freeland on Friday that Mark Carney would replace her.
Chrystia Freeland had the weekend to think about it… and to write her resignation letter.
“It’s quite incomprehensible. Justin Trudeau made several mistakes,” judges our source familiar with the interactions since Friday, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
It was not possible to obtain the version of the facts from Justin Trudeau, Mark Carney, or even Chrystia Freeland.
But we know the result: Monday morning, at 9:07 a.m., the woman who was also deputy prime minister slammed the Cabinet door.
PHOTO SPENCER COLBY, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Chrystia Freeland arriving at the Liberal caucus Monday evening
She had a telephone discussion with the Prime Minister before publishing the letter where she criticizes his “expensive political tricks”.
The tactics are not identified, but there is talk of the GST holiday and the $250 check that the Prime Minister’s Office wanted to send to Canadian employees.
These announcements were made on November 21.
On November 25, Donald Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs of 25% on Canadian imports.
“It’s really since that day that tensions with the Prime Minister’s office have worsened,” explained a Liberal source.
Resign instead of being demoted
The final straw fell on Friday.
“The Prime Minister told him that he was going to reshuffle the Cabinet on Tuesday or Wednesday, after the unveiling of the economic update,” maintained the same Liberal source.
Between a “very public demotion” at the head of a ministry of Canadian-American relations and resignation, Chrystia Freeland has made her choice, concludes this person.
Behind the scenes, Justin Trudeau loyalists point out that until recently, the Toronto MP was willing to present the economic update.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois, during question period, Tuesday
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, does not see things that way.
She was treated very inelegantly by the Prime Minister.
Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois, in the press scrum, Tuesday
As for the conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, one of his biggest detractors, he suddenly came to his defense.
“She was trying to regain control of spending,” he said in the Commons on Monday, speaking of the big money manager whom he has repeatedly called “incompetent”.
The Prime Minister in reflection?
The departure of Chrystia Freeland, which took almost everyone by surprise on Parliament Hill, gave new life to the Liberals who had challenged the leadership of Justin Trudeau.
In the morning of Tuesday, the women’s caucus met with this specific item on the agenda, according to our information.
It was the day after an emergency meeting of the national caucus, during which several MPs asked their boss to step down.
“I had never seen him so thoughtful,” said a deputy who was in the room.
I am glad that the Prime Minister is thinking about what happens next.
Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos
His colleague Sean Casey is under no illusions. “He’s not affected!” Nothing in his actions indicates that he has changed his mind,” he said.
And if a ministerial reshuffle took place this week, other languages could be loosened, believes the elected official.
Because the attraction of a ministerial car can encourage people to stay in line. “In my opinion, this is why we delayed the reshuffle,” he said.
Interviews canceled
The Prime Minister has not yet publicly reacted to Chrystia Freeland’s departure.
He has also given up on the traditional end-of-year interviews that he was supposed to give to certain media.
This includes the editorial table which was to take place on Thursday in the offices of The Press.
Enough to fuel speculation about his political future, while the House of Commons is in recess until January 27.
