Trudeau to shuffle cabinet Friday as pressure for him to resign remains

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his cabinet on Friday morning.

A government source confirms the prime minister will attend a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall.

This comes at the end of a tumultuous week that saw him lose his finance minister and face a new swell of pressure within his caucus for him to resign.

Chrystia Freeland announced her resignation as Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister on Monday, just hours before the fall economic statement was set to be introduced.

Trudeau has cancelled his year-end interviews with news outlets and has yet to publicly discuss Freeland’s departure.

He has resisted calls for him to leave for more than a year now, but should the latest situation change his mind he has several options, including resigning immediately and walking away or staying on until a new leader is chosen. Both of those options likely would require Parliament to be prorogued briefly for a short leadership race to take place.

The House of Commons is now on its holiday break, giving the prime minister a few weeks to decide on his next move before MPs return to Ottawa on Jan. 27.

On Tuesday evening, he spoke at the national Liberal caucus holiday party in Ottawa, where Freeland was in attendance.

He indirectly referred to Monday’s events, saying the previous few days had been eventful.

The embattled Prime Minister likened the recent discord among the Liberal Party he leads to a family that fights during the holidays.

“Like most families, sometimes we have fights around the holidays,” he added to scatted laughter. “But of course, like most families, we find our way through it.”