Chrystia Freeland resigned from her position as Canada's Finance Minister in December 2024 due to significant disagreements with then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, particularly over economic policy and how to handle threatened tariffs from the incoming Trump administration in the United States. Trudeau had informed her that he no longer wished for her to continue as finance minister and intended to replace her, offering her a less influential role without a department, which she found untenable. Her resignation letter criticized Trudeau's approach, calling his proposed $250 cheques to working Canadians a "costly political gimmick" and emphasizing the need to conserve fiscal reserves for a potential tariff war. She publicly expressed that a minister must have the prime minister's full confidence, which she stated she no longer had, and her tone was described as scathing. The resignation happened just hours before she was due to present the government's fall economic statement. Later, in 2025, Freeland announced she would be stepping down from cabinet entirely and would not run in the next federal election, seeking fresh challenges after 12 years in public life. She was appointed Canada's special envoy to the reconstruction of Ukraine, reflecting her longstanding advocacy on the Ukrainian issue. Thus, her initial resignation from finance was due to policy and leadership conflicts with Trudeau, while her later cabinet resignation was a planned step back from electoral politics to pursue new roles outside of Parliament.
