Trudeau and after: how the collapse of the Liberal government in Canada will play out
There is a government crisis in Canada. On the day the draft budget was presented to Parliament, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned. This event threw the ruling Liberal Party into turmoil, some members of which joined the opposition's calls for Justin Trudeau to leave his post. Meanwhile, Donald Trump became the real master of the information space. His announced intentions to sharply raise import duties play into the hands of the conservatives, who are expected to win next year's elections. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
At the last moment
The storm broke out on Monday, December 16, when Chrystia Freeland was to present the draft budget for next year. A few hours before the meeting, it became known that the infamous Canadian Minister submitted a letter of resignation. The news of the incident caused a scandal. The leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre once again bombarded the government with criticism. "The finance minister resigned on the very day she was supposed to present a budget that included a huge deficit. The post by law should have automatically gone to the Minister of Industry, but the latter also resigned. That very minute. Then the post should have passed further on command to the "two Randys". But they also refused such an honor!" - the politician stated.
The "two Randys" mentioned by Poilievre are actually one person, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages Randy Boissoneau. Recently, correspondence was published from which one could draw an unequivocal conclusion about his corrupt ties to a major American pharmaceutical company (by the way, the same one whose top manager was murdered in early December in New York). The company responded to the accusations by saying that they had "another Randy" working for them, who, however, was never found and thanks to the efforts of his Liberal Party colleagues will not be found.
Chaos and collapse
The common thread of commentary about the performance of the Canadian government formed by the Liberal Party in 2019 boils down to the definition of "chaos." The budget, which Freeland was supposed to present, was drawn up with a record CA $61.9 billion deficit. The programs adopted by the government to reduce oil production (Canada is one of the largest oil exporters in the world) and increase migration were met with sharp opposition from the authorities of certain provinces. In addition, Trudeau actively promoted an initiative on online censorship, according to which at the state level citizens were encouraged to denounce each other in case of suspicion of committing so-called hate crimes - for example, a disapproving comment on LGBT (the movement is recognized as extremist in Russia).
Meanwhile, Freeland did not limit herself to resignation alone. In a letter published on social networks, she described a conversation with Trudeau on Friday.
In it, the Prime Minister told his subordinate that he "no longer wants" her to serve as Finance Minister. And all this - a couple days before the country's main financial document was to be debated.
Trudeau's position, already deplorable given the continuing decline in his rating, thus became quite depressing. The next day, the leaders of the three opposition parties, Pierre Poilievre (Conservatives), Jagmeet Singh (New Democrats) and Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc Québécois), called on the Prime Minister to resign. Moreover, seven of Trudeau's Liberal Party teammates also joined the call.
The Donald and Fidel's son
The news of Freeland's resignation has caused excitement in the American Republican camp. Donald Trump, who has spent the past few weeks openly mocking Trudeau, and Canada in general (which has long been a cultural tradition for many Americans), met the incident with another caustic comment.
"The great state of Canada is appalled that the Minister of Finance resigned or was fired from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau. Her behavior has been absolutely toxic and not at all conducive to making deals that would benefit the extremely unhappy citizens of Canada. She will not be missed," the US president-elect summarized.
Meanwhile, Trump's plans to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports were taken quite seriously in the Maple Leaf Country. The trade turnover between the two countries exceeds $900 billion, and this kind of measures will knock out the already stagnant economy of the country.
According to economist Alexei Bobrovsky, Trump's seemingly populist initiatives have a very specific meaning.
- In such statements by Trump, I see more of an attempt to intimidate the counterparty before the inevitable negotiations. He did this regularly in his first term, and not without success. Besides, the 25% figure is rather abstract. Duties may well be introduced, but their value will be different. If we allow 25 percent duties, then many sectors of the Canadian economy - pharmaceuticals, auto parts, agriculture - will be pushed beyond that limit. It's important to note that such measures primarily target Chinese companies locating their production in countries like Canada or Mexico. And they will also, albeit through a shock to the economy, make it easier to fight inflation and allow more flexibility in managing the key rate. So these plans are by no means detached from reality," the expert emphasizes.
For Trump and his supporters, Canada represents the closest and most obvious example of defeated globalism.
The green agenda introduced by the Liberals for several years, LGBT education in elementary schools and kindergartens, or laws allowing the removal of young children from parents who prevent "trans transition" - these and many other things are openly hated and despised by American conservatives.
Adding to the piquancy of these emotions is the persistent and very widespread rumor in the U.S. that Trudeau is actually the illegitimate son of Fidel Castro (which, apparently, is supposed to explain the Canadian prime minister's extreme leftist views).
Hence Trump's incessant trolling of his neighbors. The American president-elect has repeatedly hinted at Canada's provincial status over the past few weeks, and recently even explicitly stated that Canadians would benefit if their country became the 51st state of the United States, as they would "save on taxes and military defense." No one, on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, can yet figure out where sarcasm ends and business proposition begins in these remarks.
Justin, go away
Still, there is a good chance that Ottawa and Washington can come to an agreement. For that to happen, Trump needs to wait until after the Canadian parliamentary elections. According to polls, the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, long dubbed the second Trump by the liberal press, will almost certainly take power. Even the name of his political program Canada First ("Canada First") is a copy of the American conservative project America First.
Elections are scheduled for October 20, 2025, but the opposition is trying by all means to get them held early. The actual collapse of the government definitely expands the horizon of possibilities for this. If the Canadian press is to be believed, Trudeau has no intention of leaving office at this point. However, there is no doubt that the pressure on him from both opponents and fellow party members will increase.
