To get to this moment, Trudeau has seen off a procession of people who have stood in his way. This week, former finance minister Bill Morneau was the latest casualty. Morneau’s resignation on Monday was reported to be about his long-standing misgivings about Trudeau’s spending extravagance.
In his place, Trudeau put his deputy, Chrystia Freeland, whose meteoric rise in the Liberal ranks has singled her out for a possible leadership bid. Some Ottawa observers suspect that may be the very reason Freeland, with no financial background, was given the portfolio: to keep her busy, her fortunes tied to Trudeau, and in a position where the prime minister can keep an eye on her.
Freeland, though, has been touted as a future prime minister and there is a long history of tension between finance ministers and prime ministers.
Issues, both governmental and political, inevitably arise. Historically, the prime minister is often a profligate people-pleaser who sees the path to re-election lined with dollars from the public purse. The finance minister has the unenviable job of keeping his prime minister, and every other minister in the government, in check.
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