“I have decided to resign as the leader of the party [un] as prime minister,” Trudeau, who has been in power since 2015, told reporters in Ottawa.
It is not yet clear how long Trudeau will remain in office as caretaker prime minister, but he will still lead the Canadian government when Donald Trump, who has threatened 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, takes office as US president.
Such a US move would be devastating to Canada’s economy, and Trudeau has vowed not to hold back.
In the Liberal Party, support for Trudeau fluctuated throughout last year, but fell particularly sharply after the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Christy Freeland in December.
Freeland criticized Trudeau’s political stunts to curry favor with voters and disagreed with Trudeau’s views on how to respond to Trump’s plan. It was the first time that someone in the government openly disagreed with the prime minister.
Canadian media are predicting that Freeland could run for the Liberal Party leadership. Another possible contender is former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, who also previously headed the Bank of Canada.
The Liberal Party is lagging well behind the now-opposition Conservatives in opinion polls, and the government barely survived three no-confidence votes late last year.
Trudeau announced that he received permission from the Governor General of Canada to suspend the work of Parliament until March 24. This will give the Liberal Party time to choose a new leader, while limiting the opposition’s ability to mount another no-confidence vote.
Canada has a parliamentary election this year, and Trudeau said the country deserves real choices. He added that he himself cannot be the best choice if he has to fight internal party battles.
Trudeau enjoyed great popularity for a long time and was twice re-elected as Prime Minister. However, as public dissatisfaction with inflation and housing shortages grew, his support began to dwindle about two years ago. Since 2019, Trudeau has been able to create only minority governments.
It is expected that the conservatives will win the next parliamentary elections, whose leader Pierre Polievs would then become the new Prime Minister of Canada. Trudeau said he recognizes Poliev’s vision, but believes it is not the right path for Canada.
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