‘The absolute apex of incompetence’: Five Tweets on the fallout of Chrystia Freeland’s resignation

Yesterday morning, mere hours before she was set to deliver an already delayed Fall Economic Statement (FES), Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland handed in her resignation.

In a scathing resignation letter, which she posted publicly online, the deputy prime minister, once a close confidante of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, described how she no longer had his full confidence, and how they both were “at odds about the best path forward for Canada.” She called out the government’s “costly political gimmicks” which she said would put Canada in a bad place in the lead-up to a second Donald Trump presidency.

Following a morning of major confusion, the FES was at last delivered—but not by the finance minister who prepared it. It reported a deficit of $61.9 billion, $21.8 billion over the original $40.1 billion pledge from the spring budget, much of this the result of a $16.4 billion related to Indigenous court claims. It did not include the government’s initial plan of $250 rebate cheques.

Many are wondering whether the prime minister, faced with a growing onslaught of opposition both inside and outside of his party, will step down. Still others wonder if the country is headed for a prorogation or a Christmas holiday snap election.

Here are five Tweets on the shockwaves Freeland’s resignation sent across Parliament.

Former Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer posted on X about Freeland’s resignation, how it seemingly served as a non-confidence vote in the prime minister from his close ally. He said, “This government is in shambles.”

Former Conservative cabinet minister and MP James Moore posted on X criticizing Trudeau’s decision to “pre-fire” Freeland on what was reportedly a Zoom call last Friday. He said it was delusional to turf a loyal finance minister, then have her deliver the fall economic statement, only to “humiliate her a day later by bringing in an unelected outsider to fix her mistakes.”

For months now, there have been rumblings that the prime minister’s plan was to move former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England Mark Carney into the role of finance minister.

“[This] is the absolute apex of incompetence,” concluded Moore.

Jody Wilson-Raybould, a former justice minister and attorney general in the Trudeau government, posted on X about why she feels the time has come for Trudeau to step down.

Wilson-Raybould was herself pushed out of cabinet and from the Liberal caucus by the prime minister after refusing to cut a deal with SNC-Lavalin ahead of corruption charges, amid pressure from the PMO.

Ahead of a cabinet meeting yesterday morning, Treasury Board President and Transport Minister Anita Anand told reporters that news of Freeland’s resignation “has hit [her] really hard.”

On the other side of the political aisle, Anaida Poilievre, wife of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, called out what she considered Trudeau’s warped “version of feminism.”

“Another woman deemed ‘not good enough’ for the job, only to be replaced by a man,” Poilievre posted. “No accountability for his failures—just throw women under the bus.”

This point was reiterated by the former parliamentary secretary to Trudeau, Liberal MP Celina R. Caesar-Chavannes, who was also sidelined and eventually pushed out of cabinet. Caesar-Chavannes listed the “body count of women” that she says the prime minister has thrown under the bus for challenging him.

Global News reporter Mackenzie Gray explained that journalists in yesterday’s lock-up were supposed to receive the FES at 10 am. Instead, it didn’t come until 1:45 pm.

After what seemed like a mad scramble, the FES was eventually hastily delivered by the government house leader, Karina Gould, reportedly after Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne refused to table it.

During Question Period, a new finance minister was still yet to be sworn in. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre made a snipe about the procedural uncertainty, asking on the subject of finance ministers, “Who are you?”

It was then announced that Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc would be heading with Trudeau, a close family friend, to Rideau Hall to be sworn in as finance minister.

That evening, a Liberal caucus meeting convened on Parliament Hill, where Canadian media was able to catch a glimpse of Trudeau addressing his MPs before barriers were placed in front of the windows to obstruct the gaze of their cameras.

Freeland, also in attendance, reportedly received a standing ovation from MPs.

Liberal MPs were then hounded by the media as they left the meeting. Most kept their silence while others continued to show support to the prime minister. Ontario Liberal MP James Maloney told the media the prime minister still “has the confidence of the caucus.” But during the meeting, a handful of Liberals reportedly told the prime minister to step down.

Trudeau broke his silence last night at a Liberal fundraising event, saying “It’s obviously been an eventful day.” However, he showed no signs of stepping aside and reportedly told those in attendance he would take the next few days to think about his political future.

Late last night, President-elect Trump celebrated Freeland’s departure. He went on to say that her “[behaviour] was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals.”

“She will not be missed!!!” he posted.

Globe and Mail columnist Robyn Urback noted that this is an unfortunate end for Freeland, a well-known journalist and author who was handpicked by the prime minister and who remained loyal to him for nearly a decade.

“It just shows that loyalty to this PMO is worth nothing, unless it is unyielding, unwavering and unbroken,” she wrote.