Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s resignation from cabinet has sent shock waves through Ottawa on Monday.
“Chrystia Freeland is a good friend, someone I work with very closely … this news has hit me really hard,” Transport Minister and Treasury Board President Anita Anand said on her way into a cabinet meeting.
Freeland announced her resignation in a letter written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that she posted on social media. In that letter, Freeland said Trudeau had told her last week that she would be moved off the finance portfolio and was offered a different cabinet position.
“Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the Cabinet,” she wrote.
WATCH | ‘This news has hit me really hard,’ Anand says after Freeland quits cabinet:
The news also seemed to catch Housing Minister Sean Fraser off guard when he was asked about it during a press conference announcing his own resignation from cabinet.
“This is news to me,” he said. Fraser had previously served as Freeland’s parliamentary secretary before being named to cabinet.
“Not knowing her own take on the reasons behind that decision makes it very difficult for me to assess what it may mean,” he said.
“But my sense is she’s been an excellent team member to work alongside and I continue to consider her a friend.”
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said she respected Freeland’s decision to step down.
“I wish her all the best. Look, these are difficult and deeply personal decisions and obviously she’s made that decision and I respect her for it,” Hajdu told reporters Monday morning.
Conservatives began arguing that Freeland’s resignation was a sign that the Liberals are losing faith in Trudeau’s leadership.
“Even she has lost confidence in Trudeau. This government is in shambles,” Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
But the news seemed to catch the Conservatives by surprise. Leader Pierre Poilievre was set to hold a press conference Monday morning but it has now been postponed.