Chrystia Freeland appointed Canada’s first female finance minister

OTTAWA: Chrystia Freeland was sworn in as Canada’s new finance minister, becoming the first woman to take on the powerful role.

The former foreign affairs minister was serving as deputy prime minister and intergovernmental affairs minister. She will retain her role as deputy prime minister but hand over her responsibilities for relations with the provinces to Dominic LeBlanc.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the adjustment to his cabinet after  Bill Morneau stepped down late Monda amid pressure from opposition parties. In addition to the shuffle, Trudeau is suspending Parliament until 23rd September.

Trudeau later told reporters that Canada and the world are at a crossroads as his government and others attempt to relaunch their economies amid COVID-19 surge and Freeland was the right minister for the challenges the country faces.

“Chrystia Freeland and I have had conversations over the past almost decade now about how we need to create a fairer country for Canadians, how we need to grow the economy in ways that [help] everyone. She wrote a book on the subject and has been a key player in my government since Day 1,” Trudeau said.

“As we look to building a better, more [fair] Canada that is prosperous in creating real opportunity for everyone, I can think of no one who is better suited to work alongside me and the rest of this amazing team as our finance minister to build that better future for Canadians.”

Trudeau said that he was grateful for Freeland’s service and would continue to rely on her in the coming months. Freeland said she was conscious of the fact that she is now the first woman to hold the office of finance minister and said it’s about time that the glass ceiling was broken.

“I’d like to say to all the Canadian women across our amazing country who are out there breaking glass ceilings: keep going. We are 100 percent with you,” she said.

Freeland said she has taken particular pride in the Liberal government’s feminist agenda and is glad that work is continuing. “The economic challenge created by the coronavirus is hitting women particularly hard. It’s hitting mothers particularly hard,” Freeland said.

“We are seeing women’s participation in the workforce fall very sharply, and certainly I’m glad that I’ll have an opportunity to bring my experience as a woman, as a mother, to this really important challenge our country is facing.”

Freeland has previously held several high-level cabinet positions, including the international trade portfolio. As foreign minister, she helped renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the US and Mexico.