Chrystia Freeland resigned at the wrong time for the wrong reason

People used to highlight a major difference between resignation and divorce. The latter occurs almost always at the wrong time for the wrong reason. However, the former occurs after a period of cool-headed calculation by the resignee, with a reason chosen to maximize sympathy and a time chosen to maximize the impact.

On December 16, 2024, Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, resigned from Trudeau’s Cabinet.

My view of Freeland, which matters little to others, has changed over time. I used to defend her in private conversations partly because she belonged to the party that appeared to appreciate science and education more than the Conservative. When others claimed that Freeland thirsted for power from the beginning and wrote constantly about powerful and wealthy people, I did not take it as anything undesirable. If the Liberal uses its power to promote science and education, then the more power the better.

It was the SNC-Lavalin scandal that altered my favorable view of Freeland. From my limited perspective, what was morally acceptable for Freeland to do was to join Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott in resigning from Trudeau’s Cabinet because the hypocrisy and moral corruption of the Liberal leadership were in plain sight. I was surprized to see Freeland side with the evil 100%. As a consequence, she was rewarded with more power.

A politician who would trade one’s soul for power is a dirty politician. I gradually yielded to the caricature of Freeland as a female embodiment of Faust.

As long as she was gaining power, she would do anything to promote anything that conflicted with Canadian interests. When her power was weakened, such as a demotion from the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister to less position, she readily rebelled and resigned. Such a resignation is not going to win the sympathy of average Canadians like me, although it might gather some rallying power for those other Faust-like politicians.

Canada is obviously at a difficult crossroads. The government has placed almost all our eggs into the basket of our southern neighbor, yet the Trump administration will almost certainly demand more concessions from Canada than before when Canada is already in economic turmoil. It is a time that demands Canadian solidarity, not a time to seek maximum impact on one’s political opponent.