Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party on Monday, January 6, effectively ending nearly a decade in power. Trudeau will stay on as caretaker prime minister until a new leader of the party is chosen.
A new party leader will be tasked with shoring up support for Liberals ahead of a general election that must be held this year. Trudeau’s Liberals are trailing badly in the polls to the opposition Conservatives and narrowly survived three non-confidence votes in Parliament late last year.
All three opposition parties had said they would support a vote to topple Trudeau’s minority government. But Trudeau’s situation appeared more and more untenable as members of his own party increasingly called for his resignation. Trudeau said “internal battles” mean that he “cannot be the best option” in the next election.
Trudeau came to power in 2015 after 10 years of Conservative Party rule, and had initially been hailed for returning the country to its liberal past. But the 53-year-old scion of one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers became deeply unpopular with voters in recent years over a range of issues, including the cost of food and housing, and immigration.
Trudeau’s political fortunes plunged to new depths following the surprise resignation in December of his former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland. In a scathing resignation letter, Freeland accused Trudeau of focusing on “costly political gimmicks” to appease voters, including a costly Christmas tax holiday, instead of steadying Canada’s finances ahead of a possible trade war with the United States.
Incoming US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports, a measure that could prove devastating to Canada’s economy.
This is a developing story.
