The stunning move raised questions about how much longer the prime minister of nearly 10 years — whose popularity has plummeted due to concerns about inflation and immigration — can stay on.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration was thrown into crisis when his trusted deputy, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, published a withering resignation letter on Monday that left him weakened at the worst possible time.

The abrupt resignation of Canada's finance minister leaves the government adrift less a month before the inauguration of a new U.S. administration that could impose crippling sanctions on Canadian exports.