Justin Trudeau resigns as leader of Canada’s governing party after nearly a decade as prime minister
Trudeau says in a news conference in Ottawa that he will stay on as PM until a new Liberal Party leader is chosen
“This country deserves a real choice” at the next election, he says, announcing that parliament will be prorogued until 24 March
Trudeau had been under growing pressure from within his party and elsewhere to step down.19:29
In his resignation speech in Ottawa on Monday, Trudeau told Canadians that they deserve a “real choice in the next election.
“It has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” he said.
The “internal battles” were largely Trudeau’s recent challenges as he fended off repeated calls to resign, including from inside his own party.
The tipping point appears to have been the resignation of one of Trudeau’s most powerful and loyal ministers, Chrystia Freeland, in December. Freeland said Trudeau was not taking the threat of tariffs from the incoming Trump administration in the US seriously enough.
Following Freeland’s resignation, Trudeau then started to lose the support of smaller parties that had previously helped keep the Liberal Party in power – the Quebec nationalist party, Bloc Quebecois, and the left-leaning New Democrats.
Reacting to news of Justin Trudeau’s resignation, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, a federal party whose aim is to advance Quebec interests, says Canada needs to have an election as soon as possible.
“Now is time for an election, which I understand will be held after the Liberal Party has chosen a new leader,” Yves-François Blanchet told reporters in Ottawa.
He added that he believes Trudeau made the right decision in stepping down, “even if it will cost us a few weeks” before Canadians can head to the polls.
The next federal election must be held on or before October. It can be called much sooner if parliament – including Bloc Quebecois members – votes in favour of a no-confidence motion to topple Trudeau’s Liberal government.
This cannot happen until after March 27, as Trudeau has delayed the sitting parliament until then to give his party time to find a new leader.
Who could replace Trudeau as Liberal Party leader?
Ex-Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland and former central banker Mark Carney are among the potential successors
