Former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland has detailed the deterioration of her political relationship with former prime minister Justin Trudeau in her new book, Unreliable Boyfriend, describing a partnership that began with mutual admiration in 2013 and ended with her removal from the finance portfolio during a Zoom call 11 years later.
Although the book’s title refers to the United States under President Donald Trump, Freeland offers a candid account of Trudeau’s leadership style, political achievements and increasingly strained relationships with cabinet colleagues. She credits him with significant accomplishments in international trade, pandemic management and the introduction of Canada’s national child-care program, while criticizing what she describes as his tendency to publicly reprimand ministers and exert pressure on colleagues.
Freeland recalls first developing a favourable impression of Trudeau at a Toronto event in 2012, when he took time to speak with her father. The following year, Trudeau encouraged her to enter federal politics by contesting a Toronto byelection. Despite concerns about relocating her family from New York and joining a Liberal Party that was then in third place, Freeland ultimately accepted the invitation.
The former finance minister also recounts Canada’s difficult trade negotiations during Trump’s first presidency. She describes Trudeau’s willingness to challenge international partners during negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, including a tense episode in 2017 when he reportedly criticized then-international trade minister François-Philippe Champagne for failing to secure concessions.
Freeland praised Trudeau’s determination during the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, arguing that Canada’s decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on American steel and aluminum measures helped preserve the trade relationship. She characterized the successful negotiations that produced the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement as one of Trudeau’s greatest leadership achievements.
However, Freeland also points to Trudeau’s controversial February 2018 visit to India as a significant political setback. She describes the trip as a public relations failure, citing criticism of the family’s traditional Indian attire and the controversy surrounding Jaspal Atwal, who had previously been convicted of attempted murder, attending an official event.
The book provides further insight into the atmosphere within Trudeau’s cabinet. Freeland claims emotional exchanges and tears became common during meetings, while ministers occasionally faced public criticism over their language. She recalls an incident in which Trudeau reportedly reprimanded a female colleague for using the word “crazy,” arguing that it was offensive to people experiencing mental health challenges.
Freeland suggests that such incidents reflected a broader leadership problem, particularly when Trudeau directed harsh criticism toward colleagues with less political influence. She also describes a growing distance between the prime minister and senior members of his government, claiming that even longtime associates rarely enjoyed close personal political relationships with him.
As Trudeau’s popularity declined in 2024, speculation intensified that Freeland would be replaced as finance minister by former central bank governor Mark Carney, who is now Canada’s prime minister. Amid the uncertainty, Freeland sought advice from former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien in November 2024.
Her account offers a rare insider perspective on the Trudeau government’s internal dynamics, portraying a leader capable of major political accomplishments but whose management style, according to Freeland, contributed to growing tensions within his own cabinet.
