Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned from her position in the federal Cabinet early Monday morning.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau she posted on her social media account, she said that the two have been "at odds" for the last number of weeks on the best way forward for Canada.
Her announcement came on the same day she was supposed to deliver the fall economic statement in Parliament.
Freeland said the prime minister asked her to leave her post as finance minister and offered her another place in the Cabinet instead on Friday. She wrote that her resigning altogether was the "only honest and viable path."
"To be effective, a Minister must speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and with his full confidence. In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence and possess the authority that comes with it," she wrote to Prime Minister Trudeau.
Freeland added that Canada is facing a serious threat with the possibility of 25 per cent tariffs from the incoming American administration. She said the government needs to prepare for a "coming tariff war" and take the threat to Canada's economy "extremely seriously."
"I know Canadians would recognize and respect such an approach. They know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves," she wrote.
Freeland said she is grateful for her time in government and proud of the work the current government has done. She will still run for her seat in Toronto in the next federal election under the Liberal banner.
**this story was written by Julia DeJong, a 4th year journalism student at Carleton University, who is doing an internship with Blackburn Media