Will Canada’s ex-Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland succeed Justin Trudeau if he resigns?

Chrystia Freeland, who shook Canadian politics last week with her surprise resignation as the country’s finance minister and deputy prime minister, is being considered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s replacement. The Canadian leader is under pressure to step down, with dozens of MPs from within his own party asking him to quit.

Trudeau is currently reflecting on his next move. Amid the political turbulence, some Liberal MPs have thrown their weight behind Freeland as his successor.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who is Chrystia Freeland?

Chrystia Freeland sent shockwaves across Ottawa after she, in a scathing letter, resigned as Canada’s finance minister and deputy prime minister last Monday (December 16).

Freeland said in her letter that she and PM Trudeau have been “at odds about the best path forward for Canada”, highlighting the “grave challenge” posed by United States President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs.

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Once among Trudeau’s most loyal allies, Freeland has been described as the Canadian PM’s “most obvious successor” by the author of her unauthorised biography titled Chrystia: From Peace River to Parliament Hill.

The book by Toronto-based journalist Catherine Tsalikis delves into her professional relationship with Trudeau.

The Harvard University graduate was convinced by Trudeau over a decade back to enter politics after spending 20 years as a journalist. In 2013, Freeland was elected as an MP for Toronto Centre.

Her working relationship with Trudeau, who became Canada ’s PM in 2015, became deeper after the 2019 election when she became the deputy prime minister, CTV News reported citing Freeland’s biography.

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As Tsalikis told Toronto Life, Trudeau “came to rely on her in times of crisis”.

Freeland got the Canadian PM a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal in 2019, negotiating with the then US President Trump. Freeland and Anita Anand [the current transport minister] were part of the duo that “got sh-t done” during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryam Monsef, who served as minister of women and gender equality at the time, told Tsalikis.

The book depicts her loyalty to Trudeau and the PM’s recognition of her importance in the government. An official told the author: “Trudeau’s foreign policy [was] actually mostly Chrystia Freeland’s foreign policy.”

Freeland was named as minister of international trade in Trudeau’s first Cabinet. She held another high-profile portfolio in the government as Canada’s foreign affairs minister. In 2020, she scripted history by becoming the first female finance minister of Canada.

“I think part of what has made her such a successful Cabinet minister … is this relationship with the prime minister… It’s based on two things: her loyalty to the prime minister and the way she has been able to deliver for him, particularly in times of crisis,” Tsalikis said to CTV News.

Will Chrystia Freeland replace Trudeau?

Freeland's shock resignation last Monday came just hours before she was set to deliver the government’s fall economic statement.

Since her exit, calls have grown for Trudeau to resign and make way for a new Liberal leader.
The Canadian PM’s approval rate has plunged. The Conservative Party is currently 21 points ahead of the Liberals.

At least 21 Liberal MPs have publicly urged Trudeau to step down, many of them within the last week, noted Canada’s public broadcaster CBC News. Some of them have now come forward to support Freeland.

“By design or by circumstance, her time of resignation has put her into the spotlight. And she appears to be the person around whom the caucus members can rally behind,” Ontario Liberal MP Chandra Arya told CBC News.

Arya said his previous support for Trudeau came from the lack of a “viable and reassuring alternative”, which has now been filled by Freeland.

There are also other names doing the rounds to replace Trudeau as the Liberal Party leader, including the newly appointed Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, ex-Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney and former housing minister Sean Fraser.

Prince Edward Island Liberal MP Sean Casey told reporters last week that there was “no shortage” of people to succeed Trudeau as Liberal Party leader “without the baggage of the prime minister.”

Casey also replied affirmatively when asked whether he would like Freeland to launch a leadership bid, reported CBC News.

As per the Globe and Mail report, Trudeau is holding discussions with senior Cabinet members and party leaders about his future.

While Trudeau is taking time to mull his next move, no one from his Liberal Party has publicly expressed interest in replacing him.

Freeland has already announced that she will run from her seat in the next federal election, which has to be held on or before October next year.

In a letter thanking her supporters, the former finance minister said “this will not be the end of the road”, sparking speculations about her potential leadership bid.

If Freeland succeeds Trudeau, her biography reportedly noted it would be “another historic first” as the Liberal Party has never been helmed by a woman.

With inputs from agencies