'Phantom finance minister': Freeland says she's 'not going anywhere' after Conservative critique

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland declared she is “not going anywhere” when pushed by the Conservatives on Monday about her future as finance minister.

On the first day of the fall sitting of Parliament, the Conservatives repeatedly went after Freeland’s job as finance minister following last week’s appointment of former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney as an economic advisor for the Liberal Party.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman claimed that Carney was “brought in to serve as the de-facto finance minister” and that Freeland was being “demoted.”

“She’s lost her job’s responsibilities. She’s lost her credibility. How long will the phantom finance minister endure this humiliation,” Lantsman said on Monday.

In response, Freeland made it clear her position in the Trudeau government is not at risk, saying “I am not going anywhere.”

“I can understand why the Conservatives prefer to focus on personal mudslinging and attacks rather than to actually talk about the economy,” Freeland answered to Lantsman on Monday.

“They don’t want to talk about inflation because it’s been down in the target range for seven months in a row. They don’t want to talk about interest rates, down three times in a row. All they can do is insult people.”

Earlier this summer, The Globe and Mail reported there was tension between Freeland and the Prime Minister’s Office. There was also speculation Carney could be tapped to replace her in some capacity.

But Freeland has since maintained she felt she had Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s support, and last week called Carney “a real addition to (the) team.”

“He's someone who I talk to often, and whom I've talked to often about economic policy since becoming finance minister,” Freeland said on Sept. 10.

Freeland also put more cold water on speculation about her future as finance minister in a press conference on Monday.

When asked whether she had any discussions this summer with Trudeau about being replaced or changing her portfolio, Freeland said “I did not.”

With files from CTV News’s Spencer Van Dyk