Canadian Finance Minister resigns as Trudeau government’s popularity flounders [Video]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced the biggest test of his political career after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, long one of his most powerful and loyal ministers, announced Monday that she was resigning from the Cabinet.

The stunning move raised questions about how much longer the prime minister of nearly 10 years can stay on in his role as his administration scrambles to deal with incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Trudeau’s popularity has plummeted due to concerns about inflation and immigration.

Opposition leader Jagmeet Singh, whose party Trudeau’s ruling Liberals have relied upon to stay in power, called on Trudeau to resign. The main opposition Conservatives demanded an election.

Freeland, who was also deputy prime minister, said that Trudeau had told her Friday that he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister and that he offered her another role in the Cabinet. But she said in her resignation letter to the prime minister that the only …