Ghostwriter of Bill Morneau memoir says book highlights Trudeau’s ‘weaknesses’ as PM

The book takes readers on a journey through Morneau's political career, and explains why he decided to step down from his position in 2020. According to Reynolds, Morneau pulls no punches in his critique of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, offering an honest take on the leader under whom he served.

"I am a little hesitant to give too much away," the 82-year-old author said in an interview with the Globe and Mail, "but it's going to cause people to reassess, in ways they may not be doing now, Justin Trudeau's role as prime minister."

He added that "the biggest surprise" in the book will be "the background of the reasons [Morneau] left," which includes the former minister's "highly qualified and substantive opinion of Justin Trudeau's weaknesses as Prime Minister."

Reynolds hinted that Morneau had issues with Trudeau's principles, but refused to elaborate.

The book is set to be published by ECW Press and will hit shelves across the country on January 17, 2023.

"After an exciting and productive five years spent focused on domestic and global issues, Finance Minister Bill Morneau decided to take his leave from the same government," the description reads. "What prompted him to abandon one of the most powerful political offices in the country? How much of his decision was based on the often brutal give-and-take of politics? When did the penny drop, persuading one of Trudeau’s brightest lights to shift his talents and energies elsewhere?"

Morneau left the Trudeau government at the height of the WE Charity Scandal in 2020, resigning as finance minister as well as MP for Toronto Centre.

The scandal implicated the Trudeau government in the awarding of a federal contract to a charity with ties to the prime minister.

Trudeau was investigated by Canada's ethics watchdog, and cleared of any wrongdoing in 2021.