Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, saying he intends to step down from the top job and as the leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party once a new party leader is chosen.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its new leader,” the 53-year-old leader told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa on Monday.
Canada’s parliament will be suspended until March 24 while a new Liberal Party leader is chosen, he also said.
Trudeau added that he has “one regret” – failing to reform Canada’s election process, ahead of a general election expected this fall.
“If I have one regret, particularly as we approach this election — well, probably many regrets that I will think of,” the outgoing leader said. “But I do wish we’d been able to change the way we elect our governments in this country so that people could simply choose a second choice, or a third choice on the same ballot.”
How did we get here?
Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party for 11 years and prime minister for nine, was facing a mounting set of crises, from Donald Trump’s tariff threats to the resignation of key allies and disastrous opinion polls. His resignation could be seen as choosing to jump before he is pushed, ahead of a general election to be held later this year that he is widely expected to lose.
Trudeau took the Liberals to power in 2015, promising “sunny ways” for Canada. He championed progressive issues like combating climate change and addressing historic abuses against Indigenous peoples, but the latter years of his premiership have been marked by rising economic discontent.
A viral confrontation with a steel worker, who criticized Trudeau for not addressing the high cost of living, captured the growing discontent among Canadians.
“You’re not really doing anything for us, Justin,” the worker remarked, highlighting a sentiment that resonated widely.
Trudeau’s government was also rocked last year by the surprise resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, just hours before she was due to deliver her annual fiscal update.
In a blistering letter of resignation, she criticized Trudeau’s “political gimmicks,” likely referring to a two-month sales tax holiday and 250 Canadian dollar ($175) rebates for most workers.
Freeland said Canada could “ill afford” these policies, seen as a pre-election handout to claw back some voters, and coming as the country faces the serious prospect of huge tariffs which could be levied by the incoming Trump administration.
US President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House on January 20, has said he will sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all products coming into the US from Canada. Trump has also taken to belittling Trudeau and the country of Canada on social media, referring to the prime minister as the “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”
