NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING — Sometimes the senior officials familiar with a situation but unauthorized to speak publicly don't know what they think they know. CHRYSTIA FREELAND’s Monday bombshell caught almost all of Ottawa off guard — even those delighting in Globe headlines about PM-DPM turmoil. Early in the morning, Ottawa reporters ambled into the Fall Economic Statement “lockup” — a sneak peek at the numbers Freeland was scheduled to release at 4 p.m. — eager to read the embargoed report, to dive into the policy weeds and to hear from the minister on the state of Canada’s books. Everything was routine until it wasn't. — First, though: Housing Minister SEAN FRASER called a presser for 9 a.m. where he abruptly announced he won’t be running in the next election. It’s a life update that would have led a news cycle or two — along with ensuing Cabinet shuffle speculation. — The upside down: Everything changed at 9:07 a.m. when Freeland announced her resignation on X. In the words of one official: Freeland dropped an “atomic bomb” on the Prime Minister’s Office. From then on in — if not before — people in powerful positions in the Government of Canada made it up as they went along. INSIDE THE LOCKUP — There were so many questions. For starters, was there going to be a Fall Economic Statement? It took three and a half hours to confirm: yes. A background briefing by federal government officials, who must remain anonymous, finally started at 2 p.m. after a long morning Cabinet meeting. By then, many reporters had abandoned the scene. — Yet more questions: Who would deliver the Fall Economic Statement? Would there still be a speech in the House? And who would replace Freeland? The answers were revealed by early evening. House Leader KARINA GOULD shared the FES without fanfare or a speech, though the opposition howled about the lack of debate. Tories accused the Liberals of contempt. DOMINIC LEBLANC, a friend of Trudeau dating to their childhood, is now finance minister. — For the record: The FES pegged the federal deficit at C$61.9 billion, well above the C$40.1 billion pledge Freeland made a year ago. The debt-to-GDP ratio held steady at 42.1 percent. In 2026-27, the deficit is expected to fall below 1 percent of GDP, meeting the government's ongoing fiscal objective. — Also noted: The 270-page soft-cover document featured no upbeat intro from Freeland — optimistic spin and best-case scenarios that are the boilerplate of these sorts of government docs. ON THE HILL — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU holed up in his office, avoiding the reporters and cameras camped outside his door. His chief of staff KATIE TELFORD held one-on-one meetings with Cabinet members. Liberal MPs demanded a national caucus meeting. Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND choked up over what transpired. PIERRE POILIEVRE's director of media relations SEBASTIAN SKAMSKI handed out grapes, bananas and protein bars to journalists staked out on the Hill. The Prime Minister’s Office scrambled to keep up with the disorder. At one point after reporters caught wind of an emergency caucus gathering in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, someone posted a handwritten sign on meeting-room doors that said “meeting cancel.” As one MP was advising Playbook that the meeting was indeed still on, he was shushed by Liberal MP LENA METLEGE DIAB. The PM showed up, though his press secretary insisted he was not in the room — even as cameras were broadcasting footage of him on live TV. (Only after images started to circulate on X did the PMO realize cameras could see into the room’s oversized windows. Barriers were put up to block the view.) The Prime Minister’s Office spent most of the day spiralling and silent. Ministers’ staffers were mostly left out of the loop, with some expressing worry about the future of the party — and their jobs. — Must-see MP: Freeland made an appearance at the emergency caucus meeting and received a standing ovation and multiple rounds of applause, several sources tell Playbook. "Finally we’ve got somebody like Chrystia Freeland who has made a major move, and my hope is a lot of Cabinet ministers will start to speak up and say publicly what they all know: the prime minister's political career is essentially over," Liberal MP WAYNE LONG told Playbook. Last week, Freeland was getting the gears for her failure to communicate. On Monday, she was welcomed like a martyr who sacrificed her career for the sake of getting the PM to wake up to caucus concerns. Freeland was also on the phone with Ontario Premier DOUG FORD as he hosted winter premiers' meetings. Ford put her on speakerphone as several premiers shared kind words. — The biggest flex: Freeland insists she’s staying in caucus — and that she plans to run again. Without her saying so explicitly, some MPs are certain this means she’s calling on Trudeau to resign. On and off the Hill, people are questioning Trudeau’s feminist credentials — again. — New MPs calling on the PM to resign: CHAD COLLINS, ANTHONY HOUSEFATHER, PATRICK WEILER, HELENA JACZEK and RENÉ ARSENEAULT. — Pub date: House of Anansi Press announced it has pushed up the release of “Chrystia,” a biography of Freeland penned by CATHERINE TSALIKIS. The book was slated for release next February. New date: this Friday. | 
