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OTTAWA, Aug. 18-- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Chrystia Freeland as his new finance minister Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, Trudeau appointed Dominic LeBlanc as minister of intergovernmental affairs. Freeland, 52, has become the first female finance minister in Canadian history. She has already served as Canada's international trade minister, foreign affairs minister and deputy prime minister and intergovernmental affairs minister. She will retain her role as deputy prime minister. Trudeau made the mini-shuffle of his cabinet after Bill Morneau resigned as finance minister Monday night. Morneau resigned amid an ongoing scandal of accepting gifts from a charity organization and reported rift with Trudeau. Morneau told a press conference Monday night he was not going to run in the next federal election and that he only ever intended to serve in two governments. "Now is the right time for a new finance minister" to manage a long and uncertain recovery as Canada rebuilds from the economic downturn brought on by COVID-19, he said. Morneau denied he was asked to quit and said he will run for secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. In the past week, reports surfaced that Trudeau and Morneau were at odds over environmental initiatives and COVID-19 pandemic relief spending. The Canadian Prime Minister's Office issued a statement a week ago saying Trudeau had "full confidence" in Morneau. | 
