Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday in the face of rising discontent over his leadership, and after the abrupt departure of his finance minister signalled growing turmoil within his government, bringing to an end a tenure that began in October 2015.
“I intend to resign as leader of the Liberal Party, and as Prime Minister after the party elects its next leader following a robust process,” he announced.
Immediate elections, as demanded by the opposition, are not likely as Trudeau has sought that Parliament be prorogued till March 24, obviating the possibility of facing a no confidence vote in the session that was scheduled to commence on January 27.
Trudeau met Governor General Mary Simon for secure the prorogation prior to appearing for a press conference outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa.
He said he had asked the president of the Liberal Party on Sunday evening to start the process for the election of the next leader.
“If I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” he said.
An official familiar with the matter said Parliament, which had been due to resume January 27, will be suspended until March 24. The timing will allow for a Liberal Party leadership race.
All three main opposition parties have said they plan to topple the Liberal Party in a no-confidence vote when Parliament resumes, so a spring election to pick a permanent replacement was almost assured.
“I’m a fighter,” Trudeau said, adding it had become “obvious” to him he cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next Federal elections.
He said he had informed his children of the decision on Sunday night over dinner after having had the opportunity to reflect on the matter over the holidays.
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 soaring cost of food and housing, and surging immigration.
Trudeau, who turned 53 on December 25, became the leader of the Liberal Party in April 2013. By the summer of 2015, his campaign to become Prime Minister gathered momentum and he swept into power on October 19 that year, as his party captured a comfortable majority of 184 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons.
He remained a global liberal icon till February 2018 when a disastrous visit to India was skewered for his costume changes and the presence of a convicted Khalistani extremist at a formal reception organised by the Canadian High Commission in Mumbai.
Prior to the 2019 Federal election, photos emerged of Trudeau in brownface, but he survived the outrage to secure another term, though his party was reduced to a minority, down to 157 seats.
Lavish handouts during the Covid-19 pandemic couldn’t help his government seize another majority and it fell short yet again in the 2021 federal polls, with 160 seats.
By February 2022, his regime took an authoritarian turn, imposing, for the first time in Canadian history, a national emergency to scotch protests in Ottawa by the so-called Freedom Convoy. He never quite recovered.
By the end of the year, he was trailing the opposition Conservatives across polls. The flashpoint was the loss of the safe riding of Toronto-St Paul’s in June 2024. Among the issues cratering his popularity was unsustainable levels of immigration leading to housing unaffordability and pressure on health and transport infrastructure as well as burgeoning crime.
As 2024 came to a close, he was also facing an internal revolt, which blossomed with the shock resignation of then deputy Prime Minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland in December.
That spiraled into calls by nearly 100 of his MPs, including the caucuses from Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic region, seeking his early departure.
Recent surveys showed that, led by Trudeau, the Liberals could have headed for the worst federal election result in their history.
The catalyst for the change was Freeland’s resignation. She will be among the principal contenders for leadership. Others include Cabinet Ministers Mélanie Joly, Dominic LeBlanc, François-Philippe Champagne, Anita Anand, an Indo-Canadian. There may be contenders outside the Trudeau Government, including former British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney.