CANADA: Betting Markets Shift Against Trudeau After Fin Min Quits

Dec-17 12:00

After Finance Minister and Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland's resignation on 16 Dec political betting markets have shifted against PM Justin Trudeau, showing increased implied probabilities that he could be forced from office or that the next election is brought forward. While there was speculation about Freeland's possible departure, her scathing resignation letter was a notable blow to the PM. 

  • Data from Polymarket shows a 21% implied probability that Trudeau will announce his resignation by Friday 20 December. There is a 70% implied probability that he leaves office/announces his resignation by April. Bettors assign a 72% implied probability that a general election is called earlier than 20 October 2025.
  • Data from Kalshi shows bettors assigning an 18% implied probability that a successful vote of no confidence take place in 2024, up from 1.4% before Freeland's resignation.
  • After Freeland's resignation Jagmeet Singh, leader of the leftist New Democratic Party (NDP), urged Trudeau to resign. Asked on whether he would back a no-confidence motion he said ‘All tools, all options are on the table.’ Support from the NDP is the only thing that kept Trudeau's minority Liberal gov't in power in the most recent confidence vote earlier in December.
  • Given the lack of parliamentary time left in the year, it may prove more likely that Trudeau is forced out by his own Liberal caucus (Politico reports Freeland "received a standing ovation and multiple rounds of applause," at an emergency meeting of Liberal MPs after her resignation) than by an opposition confidence motion. 

Historical bullets

US OUTLOOK/OPINION: US Macro Weekly: Fed Shifts Hawkish As Disinflation Stalls

Nov-15 21:51

Our weekly US Macro publication is out (PDF):

  • US “Inflation Week” brought largely in-line results, with sequential core CPI coming in a little lower than expected, and headline CPI and core PPI a little higher than expected.
  • But overall the takeaway was that there was relatively little if any disinflationary progress in October, exacerbated by what looks like a small sequential acceleration in the core PCE reading for the month.
  • The cumulative effect of surprisingly hawkish Fed commentary combined with the slight upside in core PCE (with a helping hand from solid initial jobless claims among other data demonstrating continued resilience) saw a notable shift in rate cut pricing this week.
  • The December FOMC meeting appears to be "live", nearing 50/50 implied probability of a hold at one point Friday morning, versus closer to 20% at the start of the week.
  • At the end of this document we highlight two major shifts in FOMC tone this week: one is that a "pause" was introduced as a possibility by a senior FOMC member (Gov Kugler); the other is that there is growing concern over the implications of soaring longer-end rates.
  • Neutral rate-talk also dominated, and in a hawkish direction - Dallas Fed's Logan mused that the Fed had already perhaps already reached neutral rates.
  • It's probably still the case that the FOMC is still in the "thinking about thinking about slowing rate cuts" stage, which means a December cut is the default. But some of the groundwork for a less dovish rate cut path appears to have been laid since the US election (the potentially hawkish implications of which, FOMC members didn't venture into).
  • This week’s heavy data slate gives way to a quieter schedule Nov 18-22, with key macro highlights including flash November PMIs and housing market data, with FOMC speakers also of interest after this week’s shift (including Cleveland Fed Pres Hammack).

US OUTLOOK/OPINION: Atlanta Fed GDPNow Steady, PCE Upgraded Despite Control Miss

Nov-15 21:08

The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow estimate for Q4 remained steady at 2.5% Q/Q annualized in the Nov 15 update, reflecting higher personal consumption expenditures (now 2.8% vs 2.7% in the prior day's update), offset by downgrades to equipment/ nonresidential structure investment. 

  • The stronger PCE figure comes despite a softer-than-expected Retail Sales Control Group figure - we think this is a reflection of the higher revision to September's Control Group, which will statistically carry over into the Q4 growth rate.
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USDCAD TECHS: Bull Cycle Extension

Nov-15 21:00
  • RES 4: 1.4210 2.0% 10-dma envelope  
  • RES 3: 1.4140 1.500 proj of the Oct 17 - Nov 1 - 6 price swing
  • RES 2: 1.4122 3.0% Upper Bollinger Band
  • RES 1: 1.4106 High Nov 15
  • PRICE: 1.4077 @ 16:54 GMT Nov 15
  • SUP 1: 1.3959 High Nov 1 / 6
  • SUP 2: 1.3891/22 20-day EMA and a key S/T support / Low Nov 6
  • SUP 3: 1.3785 50-day EMA
  • SUP 4: 1.3611 Low Oct 8

A strong rally in USDCAD this week reinforces the current bullish condition. The pair has topped 1.3959, the Nov 1 / 6 high. This break confirms a resumption of the uptrend and has also resulted in a breach of 1.3977, the Oct 13 2022 high. 1.4140 marks the next upside level. Initial firm support to watch lies at 1.3891, the 20-day EMA. A short-term pullback would be considered corrective.