Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he continues to have "full confidence" in Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, but he's also been talking to Mark Carney about entering federal politics.
Amid reports suggesting Freeland's role in cabinet could be on the table, Trudeau told reporters in Washington, D.C. on Thursday that Freeland "has been a close friend, an ally, and partner in doing really big things for Canada, and will continue to be."
"I have full confidence in her abilities, and the work we're going to be doing together," he said.
This comes after The Globe and Mail reported Thursday citing unnamed sources, that senior officials in Trudeau's office are concerned about Freeland's effectiveness in delivering a successful economic message.
The newspaper also reported that the relationship between the deputy prime minister and the Prime Minister's Office "has become tense."
Connected to this, there has been chatter, as first reported by the Toronto Star, about replacing Freeland in the finance portfolio with much-speculated leadership contender Mark Carney.
Just as Trudeau has repeatedly asserted his intentions to stay on and lead the Liberals into the next election, Carney has thrown cold water on the rumours that he's eyeing launching a bid to replace him.
However, on Thursday, Trudeau was asked if he's spoken to Carney personally about a potential cabinet position. The prime minister revealed that he's been talking with the former Bank of Canada governor "for years" about getting him to join federal politics in some capacity.
"I think he would be an outstanding addition at a time when Canadians need good people to step up in politics," Trudeau said.
Reacting to the developments, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Trudeau of "trying and failing to fire his finance minister to hire carbon tax Carney," a moniker the party has been trying to make stick ahead of a potential run.
"It's not just humiliating for Freeland, it begs the question: If Trudeau doesn't have confidence in his finance minister, why should anyone else?"
Political pressure has mounted on the prime minister since Poilievre's Conservatives dealt the Liberal Party of Canada a stunning defeat in the Toronto-St. Paul's late last month, seeing current and former members of Trudeau's caucus calling for him to resign.
So far, Trudeau has dismissed these calls, as well as those from MPs who wanted an emergency caucus meeting to discuss the party's direction and electoral prospects.
This has fuelled speculation that instead of a summertime leadership overhaul, he could be looking to satiate those looking for change by shaking up his front bench and inner circle within the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
His comments come after a PMO spokesperson told CTV News that the latest reporting was "not accurate," and that the prime minister and his office "have full confidence" in Freeland.
"The deputy prime minister has been working tirelessly and effectively to serve Canadians since she was first appointed to cabinet in 2015," said PMO press secretary Ann-Clara Vaillancourt in a statement.
"In the latest budget, she has made historic investments in housing and into building a stronger economy, so that each generation has a fair chance at succeeding."
The Liberals deployed a new pre-budget marketing strategy that saw most of the 2024 federal budget announced before it was tabled, a move framed as marketing the measures within it to straying millennials and Generation Z voters.
However, polling in the aftermath of the major economic presentation showed no meaningful favourability bump for the Liberals. And, this week found that Canadians' concern about the cost of housing is on the upswing.
There are not any imminent indications of a cabinet shuffle, though Trudeau has reconfigured his ministerial roster during the summer in years past, ahead of the caucus and cabinet retreats that typically take place in the few weeks before the September return to Parliament.
Freeland's office did not respond to CTV News' request for comment, nor did Carney.
With files from CTV News' Stephanie Ha
