Freeland announced that on December 13, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed her that he no longer wanted her to serve as Minister of Finance.
Media reports indicate that Freeland is leaving the government "rather than agreeing to a job change," and describe her resignation decision as "shocking," as her announcement to step down from Trudeau's cabinet came just hours before her report on the economic situation.
According to CBC, in the letter to Trudeau where she announced her resignation, Freeland criticized his management of the country's economy and condemned the Prime Minister's "costly political stunts."
Specifically, Freeland urged Trudeau to collaborate in order to counter the intentions of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump to raise tariffs on Canadian goods.
Journalist sources believe that Freeland will be replaced in the government by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who has been friends with Trudeau since childhood and has long been one of his trusted aides.