Chantal Hébert: Chrystia Freeland´s new job puts her in the political line of fire
(The Star Movies)

In the game of dominoes that is behind the making of Justin Trudeau’s second term cabinet, Chrystia Freeland’s shift from the global scene to the domestic stage is the defining move.Her appointment as deputy prime minister solidifies her first place in the Liberal line of succession to Trudeau. But her lead position on the federal-provincial front also puts her in the line of fire in ways her previous brief at foreign affairs did not.Between now and the next election, a hail of provincial bullets will be headed her way and not only from the Prairie provinces.Some of those bullets could do more harm to her political future than anything the Donald Trump White House has shot her way over the course of the recent NAFTA renegotiation. (Freeland retains responsibility for Canada/U.S. relations.)In contrast with the trade file, Freeland will not be able to count on the tacit support of a Canadian political class ready to set aside some of its differences to present a united front to its North American partners.The coolheadedness under fire that she demonstrated in her dealings with an unpredictable American administration earned her the number two spot in Trudeau’s government.She will indeed need a cool head if she is to build on what has so far been a political success story.Since the election, much of the focus has been on Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the vocal discontent of many of those provinces’ voters with the re-election of the Liberals.But the challenges Freeland is tasked with in her new intergovernmental affairs brief extend beyond the alienation of Western Canada or the climate change issue.By any other name, Freeland is Trudeau’s unity minister.The last time the role was as central to the agenda of a federal government really goes back to the post-referendum era in the mid-nineties and Stéphane Dion’s appointment as Jean Chrétien’s Quebec point man.If anything, Freeland’s mission could be more com ...