Ottawa was gripped by political drama on Monday after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stunningly resigned from cabinet, hours before she was scheduled to table the Trudeau government’s Fall Economic Statement.

Calls are growing from within the Liberal caucus for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down as party leader — and some have pegged Chrystia Freeland as their choice to replace him.Twenty-one Liberal MPs have publicly urged Trudeau to resign — many of them within the last week — after Freeland shocked Canadians on Monday by resigning as deputy prime minister and finance minister hours before she was supposed to table the government's fall economic statement.

Freeland cited conflict with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the direction of fiscal policy.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland shockingly resigned her cabinet position on Monday as she was set to deliver an economic update that was expected to be soaked in red ink. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on social media,

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has resigned from federal cabinet. In a letter posted to Twitter, Freeland writes that Trudeau no longer wanted her to serve as Finance Minister,

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Monday morning that she is resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, hours before the federal government is expected to deliver the fall economic statement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has survived a week of political chaos that saw Chrystia Freeland resign from his cabinet, and all main opposition parties now vowing to topple his government. But the pressure on Trudeau to resign continues to build — this time from Ontario's Liberal MPs,

That builds on the MPs already opposed to him continuing, believed to be over a third of the 153 from the ruling party