Trudeau considering his options as leader after Freeland quits cabinet, sources say

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is considering his options as leader after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland revealed she will quit cabinet.

In an explosive resignation letter published Monday morning, Freeland ignited a storm of confusion and speculation on Parliament Hill the same day she was set to table her fall economic statement – a document that typically includes key economic metrics such as the size of Canada's deficit.

Leaders from the Conservative party and the Bloc Quebecois have demanded an election. The NDP’s leader has called on Trudeau to resign.

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Trudeau taps LeBlanc as finance minister after Freeland resigns

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc became finance minister late Monday, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau moved to quickly fill a sudden vacancy after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tendered her resignation from cabinet that morning.

LeBlanc was sworn in as finance minister late Monday at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, just as the Liberal caucus was meeting halfway across town.

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🇺🇸 No wonder Chrystia Freeland wasn't invited to dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
#US
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💰Fiscal update reveals $62-billion deficit as Liberal strife bursts into public view

The economic statement showed Canada’s deficit is now forecast to be $62 billion, more than 50-per-cent higher than the $40-billion projection contained in Freeland’s spring budget.

The economy is slumping, causing growth predictions to tick down and government revenues to be revised down by $5.5-billion less than projected in April.

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Trudeau will go down in history as one of the most hated prime ministers ever.

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Canada's quarterly population growth hits slowest pace since early 2022

Statistics Canada estimates the country's population grew by 176,699 people between July 1 and Oct. 1, marking the slowest pace of growth since the first quarter of 2022.

Canada's population is estimated to have reached roughly 41.5 million people.

International migration continues to account for most of the increase in population.
#immigration
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#Trudeau
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Trudeau told Freeland that Carney would replace her as finance minister over Zoom

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Chrystia Freeland in a Zoom call Friday that she’d be replaced as Finance Minister by Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, three Liberal sources said.

Trudeau told Freeland she’d be out by Tuesday morning but still expected her to deliver Monday’s economic update, which showed the government missing its $40.1-billion deficit target by over $20 billion.

Freeland quit Monday morning before giving the update. Carney turned down the job, so Trudeau made Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc the new Finance Minister.

#Trudeau #Freeland
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📊 Post-Freeland resignation, Trudeau’s net favourability drops to -43 as only 19% want him to stay on as Prime Minister

Today, 22% of Canadians approve of the job performance of the federal government (down 3) while disapproval is steady at 62% (up 1).

20% (down 3) have a positive view of the Prime Minister, while 63% (up 2) have a negative impression of the Prime Minister, resulting in a net score of -43.
#Trudeau
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Canadian dollar dips below 70 cents US for first time since March 2020

The Canadian dollar dipped below $0.70 US on Tuesday, the first time it has done so since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, according to Bloomberg data.

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Trudeau says he won’t quit but will reflect on events in wake of Freeland’s resignation

Ms. Freeland’s exit led to a discussion at cabinet about whether Mr. Trudeau should resign, according to three sources who were briefed on the meeting. Mr. Trudeau called a Liberal caucus meeting later in the day after at least eight Liberal MPs publicly called for him to resign. In that meeting, MPs expressed reservations and concerns, with some repeating their calls to resign, one MP said.

Mr. Trudeau’s message to caucus, the MP said, was that he is not immediately stepping down but that he would reflect on the day’s events. The MP said their takeaway is that the issue of Mr. Trudeau’s future is not closed.
#Trudeau
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Canada tightens immigration point system to curb fraud tied to job selling

Temporary foreign workers who apply to become permanent residents through Canada’s immigration system will no longer get additional points if they have a job offer that’s supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), Immigration minister Marc Miller said Tuesday.

The move will reduce fraudulent activities in Canada’s Express Entry System, which is an online platform that manages Canada’s skilled immigration programs, the minister said at a press conference.

Band-Aid on an open wound.
#immigration
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Prime Minister Trudeau cancels year-end media interviews to ‘reflect’

Good. That would be unbearable to watch.
#Trudeau
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🪖DND warns availability of Canadian military equipment is dropping

The percentage of navy and army equipment that is supposed to be ready for training and operations has continued to decline, warns a new report from the Department of National Defence.

Not exactly an ideal position from which to build a presence in the Arctic and fulfill NATO's goals.

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At what point do we begin to worry?
#US
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Mark Carney isn’t joining the federal Liberals, says Dominic LeBlanc

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney isn’t joining the federal Liberals, says new Trudeau government Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

The New Brunswick MP and Trudeau confidant says he’s been given assurances from the prime minister that he will remain the country’s finance minister.

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On a beach in Vancouver
#BritishColumbia
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First Nations leaders blast feds for attributing deficit overrun to Indigenous legal claims

First Nations leaders are blasting the federal government and calling for an apology after Ottawa attributed its latest deficit overrun to Indigenous legal claims against the Crown.

Congratulations, you played yourself.

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Trudeau holding talks with cabinet, party leaders about whether to step down

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding discussions with cabinet ministers and senior party leaders about stepping down early in the new year, but close confidants have walked away from these conversations with starkly different conclusions about where he stands.

One confidant, who spoke directly to Mr. Trudeau this week, said the Prime Minister believes he can no longer continue after Chrystia Freeland rocked the government with her surprise resignation as finance minister and deputy prime minister on Monday.

However, a second source who also spoke to Mr. Trudeau, said the Prime Minister does not want to go and remains motivated to lead the Liberals through the headwinds they face.

Several cabinet ministers are campaigning to persuade Mr. Trudeau to stay and overcome mounting calls to quit. Mr. Trudeau was prepared to step aside on Monday but was talked out of leaving, a third source said.
#Trudeau
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📈 Lost Canadians bill could create 115,000 more citizens, says parliamentary budget officer

A bill to reinstate rights for what are known as lost Canadians could create around 115,000 new citizens in the next five years, according to a report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

The report, published on Thursday, also estimates that it will cost the government $20.8-million over five years to implement the change, with $16.8-million coming in 2025-2026. The PBO presumes the law will come into force in April.

Bill C-71 was introduced by the government earlier this year after an Ontario court ruled it is unconstitutional to deny citizenship to children born overseas to Canadians also born outside the country.

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