Canada’s Freeland has called Trump ‘a bully.’ She could be its next prime minister

After nearly a decade in power, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally bowed to a chorus of criticism that had become too loud to ignore, announcing his resignation on Monday. Among the loudest critics was one of his most loyal and longest-serving deputies.

After nearly a decade in power, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally bowed to a chorus of criticism that had become too loud to ignore, announcing his resignation on Monday. Among the loudest critics was one of his most loyal and longest-serving deputies. In December, then-Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland had sharply rebuked what she described as Trudeau’s pursuit of “costly political gimmicks,” referring to recent policy proposals including a two-month sales tax holiday and 250 Canadian dollar ($175) rebates for most workers. She and Trudeau had “found ourselves at odds about the best path forward,” she wrote in a resignation letter, adding a jab at her boss’s waning popularity: Canadians “know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves,” Freeland said. Just a few weeks later, Trudeau would announce his own resignation. “Removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal Party should also decrease the level of polarization that we’re seeing right now in the House and Canadian politics,” he said on Monday as he stepped down. While Trudeau had already faced heat from a disenchanted public and rising opposition movement, Freeland’s public letter was a stunning turn for a once-steadfast ally of Trudeau.