Freeland, 52, a former journalist and foreign minister, on Tuesday became Canada's first female finance minister, a day after Bill Morneau resigned. She also keeps her job as deputy prime minister. "It's about time that we broke that glass ceiling,'' Freeland said, EDNews.net reports citing Deutsche Welle.
The appointment comes a day after Morneau resigned as finance minister amid reports of differences with Trudeau over government spending to protect the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Freeland will now be tasked with reviving an economy crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the budget deficit this fiscal year forecast to hit C$343.2 billion ($253.4 billion, €218.7 billion). That would be the largest shortfall since World War II.
"We need a long term plan for recovery, a plan that addresses head-on the fundamental gaps that this pandemic has unmasked," Trudeau told a news conference.
