“I met with the prime minister today to inform him that I did not plan to run again in the next election,” Morneau told the press. “It has never been my plan to run for more than two federal election cycles.”
Prime Minister Trudeau, in trying to recover from the latest in a long line of scandals affecting his time in office then offered Morneau his thanks for his “unwavering leadership and commitment to service” as well as his “advice, and close friendship” throughout his tenure.
And as become a recurring theme in his time as prime minister, Trudeau was once again accused of throwing others under the proverbial bus to save his own political skin.
Jagmeet Singh, the New Democratic Party leader said: “Canadians need a government that is focused on helping them, not on their own scandals. In the middle of a financial crisis, Justin Trudeau has lost his finance minister. Every time he gets caught breaking ethics laws, he makes someone else take the heat. That’s not leadership,” – an M.O. echoed by Canada’s Conservative leader Andrew Scheer who accused Mr Trudeau of ‘scapegoating his finance minister.’