Freeland’s resignation shows incompetent leadership from Trudeau. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.
Has there ever been a more incompetent government in Ottawa? Yesterday’s bombshell announcement that former finance minister Christine Freeland quit cabinet on the day she was supposed to table the long-delayed fall economic statement is virtually unprecedented.
And what sort of Prime Minister tells his finance minister that she is going to be fired, on the Friday before she is scheduled to deliver the economic statement?
This is how you project managerial competence and stability to the world’s markets at a time of global uncertainty and risk? Not to mention the message it sends to our allies, international investors and Canadians.
For weeks there have been growing media reports quoting “inside sources” describing increasing tension between Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, apparently over his plans to keep spending, particularly his multi-billion-dollar announcement to give working Canadians a $250 cheque.
The relationship between a prime minister or premier and his or her finance minister is critical, not only for the actual competent functioning of a government, but also for portraying that that is the case for investors, allies and voters.
Freeland’s reference to “costly political gimmicks” in her resignation letter was telling. While her record as finance minister is not remotely that of a fiscal conservative, it says a lot about this government’s fiscal management that even she has said, enough is enough.
Her advice to Trudeau was that we need to keep our fiscal powder dry, given the real threats we face from south of the border as President-elect Donald Trump threatens to devastate the Canadian economy with 25 per cent tariffs on our exports.
Trudeau is clearly not listening. As we have come to expect from his behaviour on other files, scoring political points is more important to him than making sound policy judgements about the country’s economic stability.
At a time when the priority should be trying to figure out how to establish a functional working relationship with the incoming American administration, Trudeau actually seems to be going out of his way to irritate Trump.
He has been quoted on more than one occasion, publicly criticizing American voters for who they chose to lead them. Not exactly a winning strategy with the notably thin-skinned Trump, a point provincial premiers have made with Trudeau.
Is it any wonder that Ontario Premier Doug Ford, now the chair of the provincial premiers’ Council of the Federation, has stepped into the leadership vacuum? While Trudeau is publicly insulting Trump, Ford has launched a series of ads promoting the close economic ties between the two countries on American TV stations, most notably on Fox network, long a favourite site for Republicans and Trump himself.
Ford and his provincial officials have been meeting with every state and national official they can find who might be able to influence the new, incoming administration. He has also done a series of media interviews, again, deliberately picking shows and media personalities with ties to Trump or his new team.
Several other premiers have also joined the fray, announcing new initiatives that they think might strengthen Canada’s bargaining position.
There are those who criticize efforts to curry favour with the new American president and the provincial premiers are not necessarily totally aligned on tactics. But there is no question that Canada having strong economic cards to play in the upcoming bargaining sessions that are no doubt in the offing, will be critical.
Again, Ford has been clear that in a tit-for-tat trade war, Canada could do considerable damage to many U.S. states for whom Canada is their major trading partner.
But the fact is that Canada is the vulnerable partner here. Strong, united leadership and effective strategic thinking are what is needed, not the dysfunctional theatre that Ottawa has become.
Janet Ecker is a former Ontario Finance Minister, Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Government House Leader in the governments of Premier Mike Harris and Premier Ernie Eves. After her political career, she served as the founding CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto region into an international financial centre. She currently sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards, agencies and advisory committees.
Ms. Ecker received the Order of Canada for her public service contributions and was recognized as one of the “Most Influential People in the World’s Financial Centres” by Financial Centres International. She also received a “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award” from the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivey School of Business, among other awards. She is also one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women.
