Former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland was greeted with uproarious cheering and a standing ovation when she arrived at the Liberal caucus meeting Monday afternoon.Freeland resigned from cabinet Monday morning, pointing to a comment made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday that he no longer wants her in the top economic role..UPDATED: Freeland resigns from cabinet, Fall Economic Statement on hold. Trudeau chaired the Monday afternoon caucus meeting. There has been growing speculation the prime minister could either resign or prorogue Parliament, however reportedly at least 60 Liberal MPs, about 40% of caucus, have signed a letter calling for his resignation.In the fall, about 25 Liberal MPs signed a letter in attempts to oust the prime minister..Poilievre appeals to Liberal voters after Freeland’s resignation.Despite remarks from political pundits speculating on how Trudeau would react to Freeland's resignation, and that of Sean Fraser, former housing minister, who also resigned Monday morning, it appears Trudeau is unphased, and keen for the Liberal Christmas party on Tuesday night. .Liberal MP Wayne Long told the CBC Trudeau must resign immediately and the party hold a leadership race to replace him. Long said at least a third of the party wants him to resign, a third are on the fence and a third are “professed Trudeau loyalists.”"He's messing with his legacy and it's time to move on," said Long.“Canadians are screaming, caucus is vocal — it's just time, come on.".In her resignation letter, which she posted to social media at 7:07 a.m. MST, Freeland said she and the prime minister have found themselves “at odds” in the direction they believe Canada should take.The former finance minister further denounced Trudeau's "costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford.” She will, however, stay on as a Liberal MP and run in the next election..Liberals’ Fall Economic Update sees deficit skyrocket to $61.9B.After weeks of facing pressure from both MPs and media, Freeland was scheduled to present her Fall Economic Statement on Monday afternoon.As Trudeau was swearing in new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who is one of Trudeau’s childhood friends and already minister of both public safety and intergovernmental affairs, Liberal Government house Leader Karina Gould presented the economic statement, which was more than $20 billion over the threshold.The Liberals earlier promised the deficit wouldn’t go beyond $40.1 billion. It turns out the 2023-2024 deficit inflated to a staggering $61.9 billion.
