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OTTAWA – Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre demanded on Monday that the government call an immediate election as the Liberals were plunged into chaos by high-profile resignations, saying there was no time to waste with Donald Trump’s inauguration as president just a little over one away month away.

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Poilievre said it was clear “everything was out of control” after Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced her shock resignation from Cabinet on Monday morning, just hours before she was due to deliver her autumn budget update, with the She was reportedly in conflict with the Prime Minister’s office.

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“It would be ideal to hold the election before the president takes office (on January 20) or within the first week or two of his term,” Poilievre told reporters at a news conference on Parliament Hill. “So that Canadians would have a strong prime minister with sense and backbone to stand up to President Trump and our American competitors.”

Poilievre added that he is not worried about forcing a holiday election campaign on Canadians.

“I believe Canadians’ Christmas holidays are currently being interrupted by the NDP-Liberal hell they are living in,” Poilievre said.

“And I think the best Christmas present we can give Canadians is to let them elect a new, sensible Conservative government that will deliver on Canada’s promises.”

Freeland’s resignation letter, sent to

“We must take this threat extremely seriously,” the letter said. “That means we need to keep our fiscal powder dry today so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war.”

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Trump said last month that he would impose 25 percent tariffs on both Canadian and Mexican imports if the two countries did not crack down on the flow of drugs and illegal immigrants into the United States. He has since taken several shots at Trudeau on social media. recently called him “governor” of the “great state of Canada.”

Freeland has indicated she will continue as an MP and plans to stand in the next federal election.

“MS. Freeland has been Mr. Trudeau’s most trusted minister for a decade. She knows him better than anyone and she knows he is out of control,” Poilievre said, stressing that it is now up to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh to take charge to end support for his party, which had kept the liberal minority in power for several years.

Previously, Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced he would resign from office and not stand for re-election.

Liberal backbencher Chad Collins, one of 23 Liberal MPs who circulated a letter calling on Trudeau to resign in October, publicly reiterated his call for his resignation on Monday afternoon.

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Liberal MP Wayne Long of New Brunswick, one of the few others to call for the prime minister’s resignation in October, told reporters on Parliament Hill on Monday that it was “time to go” for Trudeau, adding that he was one Prorogation followed by leadership expect racing as the way forward.

As of press time, it was unclear who would deliver the Liberals’ fall economic statement, which is scheduled to be tabled in the House around 4 p.m. ET today.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who is next in line under a council order, would not say Monday morning whether he would announce the update.

Third in the order of succession is Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault, who resigned from cabinet last month over a series of misleading claims regarding his alleged Indigenous heritage.

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