Canada’s finance Minister Bill Morneau has resigned amid a series of reports of differences between him and the country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau over the handling of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Morneau formally announced he was leaving the post as well as the House of Commons as he told reporters during a press conference that “the right time for a new Finance Minister to deliver” on a “plan” towards recovery from the havoc caused by the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

According to multiple reports, Morneau had been deeply unhappy over the deficit the Government was running in and believed that policies announced by Trudeau were not carefully considered.

Morneau met Trudeau in Ottawa on Monday morning before the announcement was made later in the evening. A statement issued by Trudeau’s office said he had accepted Morneau’s resignation.

The statement was laudatory about Morneau’s contribution to the Government and ignored any explanation as to why the finance Minister’s departure was precipitated.

However, it did mention that Morneau “will put forward his name as a candidate to be the next secretary general of the OECD” and that “Canada will vigorously support his bid to lead this important global institution.”

Speculation over Morneau ouster grew in recent days as former governor of Bank of Canada and Bank of England Mark Carney returned to Toronto from London and has been playing a role as an informal advisor to Trudeau on the plan for recovery from the economic devastation caused by Covid-19 related restrictive measures. Carney and deputy PM Chrystia Freeland are among the leading contenders to replace Morneau.

During the course of his media interaction Morneau said that it had “never been” his “plan to run for more than two federal election cycles.” The 57-year-old was an MP from Toronto Center and was first elected in 2015. He was appointed Finance Minister in October 2015 and remained in that post till the resignation.

Both Trudeau and Morneau have also been embroiled in the controversy over the grant of a near billion dollar contract to a charity with links to them and their families. While that contract was cancelled following the controversy it resulted in, both of them are also being investigated by the country’s Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner as well as a couple of Parliamentary panels.

The acrimonious exit, which is likely to jolt Bay Street, Canada’s equivalent of Wall Street, and have economic repercussions given its timing, was not reflected in Trudeau statement, as he said “I want to thank Bill for everything he has done to improve the quality of life of Canadians and make our country a better and fairer place to live. I have counted on his leadership, advice, and close friendship over the years and I look forward to that continuing well into the future.”

Just recently, as reports came out about growing rancour leading to Morneau’s departure, Trudeau’s office released a statement that he had “full confidence in Minister Morneau and any statement to the contrary is false.”