Trudeau ‘Considering Resignation’ After Unexpected Clash With Finance Minister.

According to reports, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is considering stepping down in the wake of a crisis that saw his finance minister resign over Donald Trump’s threat to increase trade tariffs.

CTV News reported that Trudeau told his cabinet that he is considering either resignation or prorogation. The report stated further that the Prime Minister is planning to address parliament soon

This is one of the biggest challenges of Trudeau’s time as Prime Minister. His approval rating, which was around 63 percent when he was first elected, has fallen below 30 percent this year amid economic issues, housing shortage and disagreements over immigration.

Also, some big guns in Trudeau’s party have urged him to resign ahead of a general election taking place before October next year.

Last week, the deputy prime minister and minister of finance, Chrystia Freeland, resigned hours before she was scheduled to release the country’s first economic plan ahead of an administration change in America, where president-elect Trump has promised to deliver an “America First” policy of economic nationalism.

Freeland’s resignation letter questioned Mr Trudeau’s ability to tackle the tariffs threatened by the incoming Trump administration, which she described as a “grave challenge” facing the country.

Trump has promised to impose 25 percent tariff on goods coming from Canada, something economists agree would have severe consequences for a Canadian economy already battling high inflation.

In her letter, Freeland went public with her opposition over Trudeau’s agitation for short-term spending on vote-attracting measures which will increase the budget deficit.

She stated that she was asked by Trudeau to take on a less senior post in his cabinet recently, after weeks of talking over spending.

In her resignation letter, she said: “Our country today faces a grave challenge.

“That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.”

According to her, the “only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the cabinet”.

She added: “To be effective, a minister must speak on behalf of the prime minister and with his full confidence. In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence and possess the authority that comes with it.”