(OTTAWA) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his former finance minister Bill Morneau had deep disagreements over the management of public finances in the first months after the Liberals took office in 2015.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
The break between the two men was therefore almost inevitable. It finally came in August 2020, when Bill Morneau resigned as Minister of Finance following months of tension between him and the Prime Minister over the sharp rise in federal government spending during the COVID pandemic. -19.
Unpublished details about the rocky relationship between the two men can be found in a new book written by Marc-André Leclerc, former chief of staff to former Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer.
In this book, titled Political confidences and published by Éditions du Journal, Mr. Leclerc explains in detail the work done behind the scenes by the close associates of prime ministers and ministers, both in Ottawa and in Quebec City. It thus offers a rare incursion into the lives of these political employees who know everything about the daily lives of the elected officials they surround.
In the case of Bill Morneau, Mr. Leclerc obtained confidences from Robert Asselin, a former close collaborator of the minister. A first major disagreement arose between Justin Trudeau and the country’s top fundraiser in the first budget, presented in the spring of 2016, over the Liberals’ election promise to keep the retirement age at 65 instead of pushing it back. at 67, as decided by the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper. This measure, which had caused controversy when it was adopted in 2012, was to come into force in 2029.
In the campaign, we had promised to bring back the Old Age Security pension to 65 years. Minister Morneau did not want to know anything. He saw the costs associated with this measure. He repeatedly insisted on telling her not to do this. Prime Minister Trudeau decided to do it anyway.
Robert Asselin, a former close associate of Minister Bill Morneau, in Political confidences
Mr. Asselin served as Director of Budget in Mr. Morneau’s office for two years. He thus worked closely with the Minister of Finance to produce the first two budgets of the Trudeau government during his first mandate.
Early disagreements
The second budget plan, tabled by Mr. Morneau in March 2017, gave rise to further tensions between the minister and the prime minister. This time, the confrontation was over a $7 billion spending hike to fund various measures. “There was an epic battle between Minister Morneau, me and Prime Minister Trudeau’s office. On the net, in the 2017 budget, there were no new expenditures. Mr. Morneau was successful. It is a legacy of which Mr. Morneau should be proud. He emerged victorious from the battle,” Mr. Asselin told Marc-André Leclerc.
In the last week before the budget was tabled, approximately $7 billion was cut in expenditures. Mr. Morneau put his foot down and said, “I don’t accept that.” For him, it was not acceptable, it was too much. He thought it was not a good idea to continue spending at this level.
Robert Asselin, a former close associate of Minister Bill Morneau, in Political confidences
It is normal for tensions to arise between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. But usually these tensions do not arise so early in a first term. For example, former prime minister Jean Chrétien and his finance minister Paul Martin enjoyed a good working relationship during the fight against the deficit in the 1990s. , in 1999, that their relations became more strained due to the ambitions of Mr. Martin, who was impatient to become Prime Minister.
In June, Mr. Morneau ended his silence by delivering a speech in which he was very critical of his former government. He accused the Trudeau government of caring more about image than substance when it comes to developing and implementing economic policies. Moreover, he argued that the Trudeau government was putting too much effort into redistributing the country’s wealth and too little into creating it.
Mr. Morneau must return to the charge at the beginning of the next year by publishing a book on his years in the Trudeau government.