Dominic LeBlanc, the federal public safety minister and newly appointed finance minister, says he’s optimistic tariffs on Canadian exports to the U.S. can be avoided.
“I had an encouraging conversation with a very senior official in the incoming administration yesterday,” said LeBlanc in an interview with Information Morning Moncton.
That conversation took place before Chrystia Freeland resigned as deputy prime minister and finance minister on Monday, he said.
Freeland posted her resignation letter on X, formerly Twitter, suggesting that she and Prime Mister Justin Trudeau had been at odds, in part over how to deal with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threat.
LeBlanc was sworn in to replace Freeland hours later, becoming the first Acadian federal finance minister ever and the first New Brunswicker in the role since R.B. Bennett, who held the post in the 1930s while he was prime minister.
In the wake of Freeland’s resignation, at least seven Liberal MPs as well as opposition party leaders called for Trudeau to resign.
The Liberal caucus was obviously concerned about the resignation, LeBlanc said, but they had a good meeting Monday night.
Chrystia Freeland, who stepped down as finance minister and deputy prime minister, arrives for a national caucus meeting in Ottawa on Monday. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)
“Chrystia, as well as being Deputy Prime Minister, has been a key part of our team going back to before we formed the government in 2015. So, it was a tough day. And colleagues expressed that. The prime minister … listened to all of the MPs who went to the microphone that wanted to share their views. He responded to their concerns.”
LeBlanc wouldn’t comment on whether he thought Trudeau should step down. He said he thought the prime minister had earned the right to make that decision for his own reasons and on his own time.
He also declined to comment on the prospect of becoming interim party leader or prime minister.
“I’m not dealing with any of those hypotheticals,” LeBlanc said. “I’m certainly not going to speculate on a hypothetical like that.”
WATCH | LeBlanc describes mood inside national caucus meeting:
If Trudeau decides to stay on, he suggested they would simply continue doing the work they’ve been elected to do.
“It’s not the first time that we see opposition leaders sort of tear up their shirts and proclaim that there’s a huge national crisis that the government has created,” he said. “Because you have a tough day and you have a tough week, it doesn’t mean you just hide under the desk in your office.”
Canadians expect the government to focus on issues such as the cost of living and the threat of U.S. tariffs instead of looking inward, said LeBlanc.
In her resignation letter, Freeland said Canada needs to make sure it has reserves for a possible tariff war and should not be spending on “costly political gimmicks.”
Trudeau dined with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in late November. (@DaveMcCormickPA/X)
LeBlanc defended the Trudeau government’s so-called sales tax holiday as a way to provide some temporary relief from cost-of-living pressures. He also said they remain focused on the work the government has to do ahead of the return of Donald Trump as U.S. president.
LeBlanc said he expected to provide details later on Tuesday about what will be done with the extra $1.3 billion that has been earmarked for border security in response to Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Canadian goods once he takes office on Jan. 20.
“The idea of fighting fentanyl trafficking or precursor chemicals from China, these are things we want to do for Canadians as well,” he said.
Trump has said on his first day back in office, he would impose 25 per cent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico unless both countries stop what he described as an “invasion” of drugs, “in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens” into the U.S.
LeBlanc said those tariffs “would, in terms of just affordability and cost of living, we think, be quite negative not only for Canadians but for Americans as well. So that’s the other part of the work that I’m going to really double down on, is talking to our friends in the incoming American administration.”
LeBlanc said he expected to face questions Tuesday afternoon in the House of Commons about the economic statement, which showed the federal deficit had ballooned to $61.9 billion, significantly higher than the last forecast of $40 billion.
Much of the deficit is due to liabilities from class action lawsuits over Indigenous rights claims, said LeBlanc.
The deficit level is no doubt of concern to Canadians, he said, but Canada’s debt to GDP ratio is still the best among G7 nations.
Heading into Parliament’s holiday break, LeBlanc noted the Trudeau government received the confidence of the House of Commons on multiple votes last week, including the supply bill giving the government money to operate.