Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has been thrown into confusion following the exit of finance minister Chrystia Freeland. 

Mr Trudeau had been facing calls from members of his own Liberal Party to quit the government.

Ms Freeland, in her scathing resignation letter published on the day she was due to deliver an economic statement, cited disagreements with her long-time ally on how to respond to the threat of tariffs from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. 

She also accused Mr Trudeau of choosing “costly political gimmicks” over addressing the threat posed by Mr Trump’s aggressive economic nationalism.

Mrs Freeland explained that her decision came after Mr Trudeau told her last week that he no longer wanted her to be the government’s top economic adviser. 

Mr Trump slammed Ms Freeland, saying her behaviour was toxic and not conducive to making good deals for Canada’s “very unhappy citizens.”

Mr Trump has vowed to impose a levy of a 25 per cent tariff on imported goods from Canada unless the shared border is made more secure. 

Some Liberal members of parliament have been on Mr Trudeau’s neck for months to step down, with eight lawmakers publicly expressing their displeasure towards the Canadian leader on Monday.