Chrystia Freeland and Justin Trudeau's resignation

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland (Credit: PATRICK DOYLE/AFP—Getty Images)

Good morning! Kamala Harris certifies Donald Trump's election victory, JetBlue faces a major fine, and Canada's Chrystia Freeland kicked off the chain of events that led to Justin Trudeau's resignation. Have a lovely Tuesday.

- Internal politics. Before Justin Trudeau's announcement yesterday that he will resign as prime minister of Canada, there was a sign this was coming. It was on Dec. 16, when Chrystia Freeland announced her resignation as Canada's finance minister and deputy prime minister.

Long one of Trudeau's most trusted allies, Freeland's exit indicated just how far the prime minister had fallen from the heights of his popularity and political success. Her resignation letter, too, was not the bland stuff of your typical political reshuffle. "For the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada,” she wrote in the letter to Trudeau, adding that she'd declined his request to serve in a position other than finance minister. She announced her resignation hours before she was scheduled to give Canada's first economic update after the U.S. election—a critical one amid Donald Trump's tariff threats, a matter on which she and Trudeau disagreed.

Trudeau has been in power for a decade. After early successes, he's recently struggled with many of the same challenges that animated the U.S. election: inflation, housing, and immigration. The Liberal Party he led is in even worse shape—as Trudeau hinted at yesterday. He added that he could not continue as PM amid "internal battles." Asked about Freeland's resignation, he said: "I had really hoped that she would agree to continue as my deputy prime minister and take on one of the most important files that not just this government, this country is facing, but she chose otherwise.”

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland (R) speak at a press conference to announce the new trade pact with Canada, the United States, and Mexico in Ottawa, October 1, 2018. - Trudeau hailed a continental trade deal reached with the United States, along with Mexico, as "profoundly beneficial" to Canadians. "It is an agreement that will be profoundly beneficial for our economy, for Canadian families and for the middle class," Trudeau told a news conference hours after a new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement was reached in the eleventh-hour overnight talks. (Photo by PATRICK DOYLE / AFP) (Photo credit should read PATRICK DOYLE/AFP via Getty Images)

Freeland's resignation kicked off the crisis that led to Trudeau's exit, and it also placed her squarely in the middle of the conversation about who will take his place. Before becoming Canada's first female finance minister and deputy PM, the 56-year-old served as minister of foreign affairs and renegotiated Canada's free trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico. For years best known as Trudeau's closest ally, she is now known for precipitating the end of his premiership. There are other candidates in the race to lead both the Liberal Party and the country, but Freeland is one to watch as Canada decides who will be its counterpoint to Trump 2.0.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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