Why did Canada’s finance minister resign and what next for Trudeau government?

A day after Bill Morneau resigned as Canadian finance minister and stepped down from his role as a member of parliament, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland took charge of the country’s finance portfolio

According to BBC, Bill Morneau faced pressure to step down after it was revealed he did not repay travel costs covered by WE while on overseas trips to see its work. He recently realised he had not repaid the C$41,000 in expenses and has since written a cheque.

Morneau has served in the Justin Trudeau government since the prime minister was first elected in 2015.

It is said that Mr Trudeau had plans to fire Morneau. But Morneau refuted such speculation, denying that Mr Trudeau had asked him to resign.

Morneau’s resignation comes as both he and Trudeau are both facing investigations by the new federal ethics watchdog, Mario Dion, for taking part in talks to hand WE Charity a contract to run a pandemic-related student-volunteer program.

The BBC report states that Mr Trudeau had asked former Bank of England and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney to be an informal adviser on the Covid-19 recovery plan. Mr Carney has previously been touted as a future Liberal party leadership contender.

However, Trudeau’s government is in jeopardy as there is enough evidence to hold Trudeau responsible for financial scandal