(Bloomberg) -- Canada is deploying what it calls an “aerial intelligence task force” as part of a new C$1.3 billion ($908 million) plan to address US President-elect Donald Trump’s concerns about migrants and fentanyl flowing across the northern border. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will operate the task force, made up of helicopters, drones and mobile surveillance towers. It’s one of multiple measures unveiled by the Canadian government on Tuesday in an effort to avert Trump’s threat of 25% tariffs on all goods from the country unless it boosts border security. The announcement comes a day after the country’s finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, abruptly resigned, accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of failing to seriously prepare for a Trump presidency. She was replaced by Dominic LeBlanc, the public safety minister who released the border plan on Tuesday. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/2024/12/17/canada-expands-aerial-border-surveillance-to-pacify-trump/

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar slid to its lowest level since March 2020 as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government slips into crisis after the shocking resignation of his finance minister. The currency extended its recent losses to slide another 0.4% on Tuesday past 1.43 per US dollar, the weakest level since the Covid-19 pandemic first shuttered cities. The loonie has been declining as the US’s northern neighbor’s economy lags and officials struggle to come up with a plan to respond to President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/12/17/canadas-dollar-slumps-to-covid-era-low-as-political-risk-mounts/

Trump’s return to the world stage – even though his official inauguration is on January 20 – is already claiming numerous victims. Arguably, even the fall of both the French and German government in recent months have been given some impetus by the political events in the US. But one of the clearest victims appears to be Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who resigned yesterday, citing differences with PM Trudeau’s Cabinet over how to prepare for a looming trade war with its big neighbour. Observers say her comments in her resignation letter on “eschewing political gimmicks” likely refer to the temporary tax cuts and pay-checks planned by the government to support consumption. She sees handing out money as fiscally imprudent. Given that she announced her decision just hours before she was due to speak in Parliament on the fiscal and economic outlook, markets reacted with a fall in the Canadian dollar (depreciating some 0.4% vis-à-vis the US dollar) and rising bond yields (some 7bp on the 10y note) https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trumps-return-world-stage-already-claiming-numerous-victims

Ratio’d | Chrystia Freeland RESIGNS as Deputy PM and Finance Minister https://tnc.news/2024/12/16/ratiod-freeland-and-fraser-resigns1/

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc has taken over the finance portfolio following Chrystia Freeland’s surprise resignation from cabinet. LeBlanc was sworn into the new role at Rideau Hall Monday afternoon shortly after the government tabled its fall economic statement, which Freeland was slated to present prior to her announcement Monday morning. https://tnc.news/2024/12/16/trudeau-to-name-leblanc-finance-minister2/

Freeland's resignation 'is the end of this government,' says Bloc leader! "The Departure of the Minister of Finance is the end of this government," says Yves-François Blanchet, the Bloc Québécois leader. Quebec separatists have held frequent discussions with other opposition parties on dissolving Parliament since October 29. 🇨🇦 #NoMoreLiberalsAndNDP 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #SayingTheQuietPartOutLoud 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #resigntrudeau 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #JustSayNoMore 🇨🇦 https://www.rebelnews.com/freeland_s_resignation_is_the_end_of_this_government_says_bloc_leader

Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced her resignation from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, taking aim at “costly political gimmicks” on the eve of the government’s fall economic update. In a letter to Trudeau posted on social media Monday morning, Freeland said rather than be shuffled to another cabinet position she will be resigning, claiming she and Trudeau have been “at odds about the best path forward for Canada.” There have been several reports that Trudeau is actively courting former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to join his cabinet. https://tnc.news/2024/12/16/freeland-resigns1/

In a stunning move that shakes the government, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has resigned from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet after he tried to move her to a different role. Freeland has been the most powerful person in Trudeau’s cabinet for years, and was the point person in strategizing how to counter US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs. Trudeau has now seen the departure of two finance ministers in a little more than four years. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/canadian-finmin-freeland-quits-warns-trudeau-trump-tariffs-are-grave-challenge

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced she’s resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, after she says he told her he no longer wanted her in the top economic post. In a letter Freeland posted to social media on Monday morning, Freeland said this decision came after Trudeau offered her “another position in Cabinet.” “Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the cabinet,” Freeland said in the bombshell letter. “To be effective, a minister must speak on behalf of the prime minister and with his full confidence.” “In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence,” she added, addressing the prime minister directly. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/politics/2024/12/16/chrystia-freeland-resigns-from-justin-trudeaus-cabinet/

When the TURD got in ? The Canadian federal government workforce has grown more rapidly than the Canadian population starting in 2015/16, imposing significant costs on taxpayers. In fact, between 2015/16 and 2022/23, the latest year of data available, the number of full-time federal government workers has increased by 26.1 per cent, compared to growth in the overall Canadian population of 9.1 per cent. If federal hiring had simply kept pace with the rate of Canada’s population growth taxpayers would have saved $7.5 billion. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/growing-government-workforce-puts-pressure-federal-finances