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jagmeet singh
'Trudeau Is Finished': Canadian Prime Minister Resigns After Support Collapses
"Conservatives are jumping at the opportunity to take from you and give more to CEOs," said the head of Canada's social democratic political party. "You will pay the price of Poilievre's cuts."
Jan 06, 2025
After nearly a decade leading the Canadian government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he will resign after his center-right Liberal Party selects a new leader—acquiescing to calls that he should make way for new leadership ahead of a federal election later this year.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Trudeau said "I care deeply about this country and I will always be motivated by what is in the best interests of Canadians. And the fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority parliament in Canadian history." He also added that the country's parliament will be suspended until the end of March while a new leader is chosen.
Trudeau's announcement comes as he faces declining public opinion polling, President-elect Donald Trump's threat of 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, and the departure of the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland less than a month ago.
In her strongly worded resignation letter in December, Freeland wrote that Trudeau had told her he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister and that she and Trudeau had found themselves "at odds" over the best way forward for Canada.
"The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25% tariffs. We need to take that threat extremely serious. That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today," Freeland wrote. She also warned against "costly political gimmicks" that the country could "ill afford."
Freeland and Trudeau were reportedly in disagreement over some of the prime minister's proposed policies to tackle the country's cost-of-living crisis. The resignation was followed by calls from across the political spectrum for Trudeau to resign.
That is not the first time Trudeau has faced significant calls to step down in the past 6 months. In October, at a closed-door caucus meeting, Liberal Party members urged him to resign to avoid diminishing the party's chances in the next election.
Jagmeet Singh, the head of Canada's New Democratic Party—a social democratic political party that is to the left of the Liberals—reacted to Trudeau's resignation, writing "Justin Trudeau has let you down, over and over. He let you down on the cost of groceries. He let you down on fixing health care. It doesn't matter who leads the Liberals. They don't deserve another chance."
"Conservatives are jumping at the opportunity to take from you and give more to CEOs," he continued. "You will pay the price of [Conservative Party leader Pierre] Poilievre's cuts."
Polling shows that Poilievre, who has aligned himself with U.S. President-elect's far-right brand of politics,would likely win a majority government elections were held today.
MP Niki Ashton, an NDP lawmaker representing parts of Manitoba, also didn't mourn Trudeau's exit but warned about a Conservative government and the "anti-worker" agenda of Poilievre.
"Trudeau is finished," Ashton said, describing the Liberal leader as one "who only helped people when forced to by the NDP."
"But we know, Poilievre will be a disaster," she added. "We can't let that happen."
With Trudeau out, the Liberal Party must now select an interim leader, followed by.a leadership race to find a permanent replacement, which is expected to feature Freeland. A federal election must be held by October 20, 2025, but could be held sooner if a snap election is called.
Trump reacted to the news of Trudeau's resignation on Truth Social by saying that if Canada merged with the United States then the country would be free from tariffs, taxes would decrease, and it would be secure from what he claimed were threats from China and Russia. "Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!" he wrote.
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Calls for Trudeau to Resign as Exiting Canadian Finance Minister Warns of Trump Tariffs
"He has to go. Right now, Canadians are struggling with the cost of living," said the New Democratic Party leader. "And instead of focusing on these issues, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals focused on themselves."
Dec 16, 2024
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quietly defied mounting calls for his resignation on Monday, asking Dominic LeBlanc to serve as finance minister after Chrystia Freeland resigned from the post with a scathing letter that sounded the alarm about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose economically devastating tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting, some members of Trudeau's own party joined Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre, and New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh in urging him to step aside. Federal elections must be held by October but some want them called immediately.
"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."
Yet, Trudeau seemed determined to stay, addressing his caucus meeting—where the press could see him through windows for some time—but not the public, after appearing at LeBlanc's swearing-in ceremony. LeBlanc, a longtime Liberal member of Parliament who will retain his role as minister of intergovernmental affairs, calmly took questions from reporters after being sworn in.
LeBlanc identified cost-of-living concerns as his No. 1 focus as finance minister, described Trump and Trudeau's recent meeting at Mar-a-Lago as a conversation between "two leaders focused on a number of priorities" including border security, and called Freeland a friend and "somebody that I admire as a colleague."
On the day that Freeland was set to deliver the delayed Fall Economic Statement to Parliament, she wrote in a resignation letter that after a Friday meeting in which Trudeau told her that he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister, "the only honest and viable path for me is to resign from the Cabinet."
The Associated Pressreported that "a Liberal party official said Freeland was offered a position as minister in charge of Canada-U.S. relations without portfolio and without a department. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the position would have been in name only and wouldn't have come with any of the tools Freeland previously had when she negotiated trade with the United States."
At least one member of Parliament was among those framing the development as Trudeau forcing Freeland, who also served as deputy prime minister, out of the Cabinet. According toCBC:
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."
As The Guardianpointed out, "Freeland and Trudeau have reportedly disagreed over proposals for temporary tax breaks and other spending measures, which were meant to shore up political support, but risked forcing Freeland to miss her spending goals."
In Freeland's resignation letter to Trudeau—which she also shared on social media—she acknowledged that "for the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada."
The former finance minister wrote that "our country today faces a grave challenge. The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25% tariffs."
"We need to take that threat extremely seriously," she continued. "That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment."
"That means pushing back against 'America First' economic nationalism with a determined effort to fight for capital and investment and the jobs they bring," she added. "That means working in good faith and humility with the premiers of the provinces and territories of our great and diverse country, and building a true Team Canada response."
Although Freeland is leaving the Cabinet, she made clear that she is not resigning as a Liberal member of Parliament and attended the caucus meeting. She also wrote that "I am committed to running again for my seat in Toronto in the next federal election."
Despite Freeland's exit from the Cabinet, the Fall Economic Statement was delivered to Parliament on Monday. Reutersreported that "Canada's fiscal deficit for the year ended March came in at C$61.9 billion ($43.45 billion), more than half of what was projected last year, missing one of the three key fiscal objectives... Freeland had set to achieve."
Much of the extra spending is due to one-time expenses—C$4.7 billion ($3.3 billion) related to the Covid-19 pandemic and C$16.4 billion ($11.52 billion) for Indigenous payouts—Reuters noted, but even without that, the deficit would have been around C$40.8 billion, ($28.66 billion), higher than the previously forecast C$40 billion ($28.1 billion).
In an apparent nod to Trump's demands, the fiscal update said that "the government is committed to Securing Our Borders and combating criminal networks that seek to move illicit goods, drugs, and people across our shared border with the United States."
The statement did not say anything about the proposed C$250 ($175.63) "Working Canadians Rebate," which was expected to provide relief to nearly 19 million people and cost an estimated C$4.68 billion ($3.29 billion).
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Canadians Cheer 'Big Deal' Plan for Single-Payer Pharmacare
However, at least two provinces—Alberta and Quebec—have said they would opt out, which critics called "outrageous."
Feb 26, 2024
Advocates of boosting Canadians' access to prescription drugs in recent days have cautiously celebrated forthcoming legislation for a universal national pharmacare program, which will begin with coverage of contraceptives and diabetes medication.
The supply and confidence agreement between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals and the New Democratic Party (NDP)—announced in 2022 and set to continue through the middle of next year—called for "passing a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023 and then tasking the National Drug Agency to develop a national formulary of essential medicines and bulk purchasing plan by the end of the agreement."
However, the parties last year agreed to push it until March 1. With that deadline rapidly approaching, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on Friday confirmed to CTV News that the parties had struck a deal on "historic" draft legislation.
"I can proudly say that not only do we have legislation that specifically refers to single-payer, that refers to the Canada Health Act, and the principles and values, we also have secured commitments to delivering diabetes medication and contraceptives using a single-payer public model," Singh said in a Sunday appearance on CTV.
The draft hasn't yet been introduced, but Nikolas Barry-Shaw, the trade and privatization campaigner at the Council of Canadians, highlighted in a Monday analysis that "several leaks (if correct) have suggested the Canada Pharmacare Act will include plans to develop a list of essential medicines that would be covered by pharmacare and a bulk purchasing plan, as well as an 'implementation council' to advise on financing."
"This represents one of the biggest advances in Canadian healthcare in decades but it's nevertheless a fragile victory," Barry-Shaw declared. "The program would be life-changing for people who rely on birth control and diabetes medications, and after the legislation is passed we hope the formulary will be expanded so more people can have that life-changing access to medicines."
Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labor Congress, also welcomed the win, saying Friday that "this is a BIG deal" and "represents the most significant enhancement to our healthcare system since the creation of public healthcare in Canada."
"I have personally heard from workers unable to afford their diabetes medications, and parents faced with the heart-wrenching choice between feeding their children or providing them with essential lifesaving medicines," Bruske continued, taking aim at Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, who said he wants to see the plan's details when asked about it on Friday.
"These are the struggles many Canadians face daily—not the fake outrage that Mr. Poilievre is talking about these days. The introduction of a universal single-payer pharmacare program is not just a policy change; it's a lifeline that will bring tangible improvements to the lives of countless individuals," Bruske stressed. "This achievement is a testament to the power of collective effort and advocacy."
While the plan, as Barry-Shaw detailed, would involve the federal government buying prescription drugs in bulk, so that everyone in Canada with a health card can get them without any out-of-pocket costs, "pharmacare will be delivered through provincial drug plans," which, as he the campaigner put it, is "a double-edged sword."
Global Newsreported that in a Sunday email, the office of Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, who belongs to the United Conservative Party (UCP), "said that if the federal government pursues a national pharmacare program, Alberta intends to opt out, and instead intends to obtain a full per capita share of the funding."
Blasting Alberta's UCP premier, Friends of Medicare executive director Chris Gallaway said Monday that "by preempting their decision on pharmacare even before the federal announcement is made, Danielle Smith's government has made it clear they would rather play politics than get things done to help Albertans. By doing so, they are siding with the profits of big pharmaceutical and insurance corporations over the health and well-being of Albertans."
"Canada currently pays some of the highest drug costs in the world, and millions are struggling to afford the medications that they need," Gallaway noted. "It is well documented that moving to a national, single-payer pharmacare plan would save governments, employers, Albertans, and our provincial healthcare systems billions of dollars per year. And most importantly it would save countless lives!"
"The fact is, Canada remains the only country with a universal Medicare program that does not include prescription medications," he added. "At a moment when so many Albertans are struggling with the cost of living, and access to the healthcare they need, it is outrageous to see our provincial government working to undermine this long-overdue expansion of our public healthcare coverage."
Alberta is not alone among Canada's 10 provinces and three territories. According toCTV, "Quebec has also said it intends to opt out, and British Columbia and New Brunswick said they're waiting for details before deciding whether to sign on."
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