Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he will resign in the coming months, caving in to voters angry over an uncertain economic outlook and political infighting.
The announcement, which came amid a gridlocked parliament, plunged Canada into political turmoil just as the incoming Trump administration pledged to impose punitive tariffs on Canadian imports.
“It’s time to reset.” Prime Minister Trudeau spoke to reporters outside his home on a cold morning in the capital, Ottawa. Trudeau suspended parliament until March 24 and said he would continue as Liberal leader and prime minister until a successor is chosen through a national party election.
“I truly feel that eliminating the controversy surrounding my own continued leadership is an opportunity to lower the temperature,” he said.
Trudeau, 53, who took power nearly a decade ago and quickly came to be seen as a progressive icon, is the latest leader in the West to be embroiled in anti-incumbency sentiment, a backlash against immigration and anger over immigration. The lasting impact of the inflation surge during the coronavirus pandemic. Inflation in Canada has fallen below 2%, but unemployment remains high at more than 6%.
A general election must be held by October, a timetable mentioned by Prime Minister Trudeau on Monday.
“The internal battles have made it clear that I will not be able to deliver the Liberal Party’s standards at the next election,” he said.
Mr. Trudeau has been facing mounting pressure from within his party for weeks.
In December, Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, suddenly resigned, issuing a scathing rebuke of his leadership and stewardship of the country. Ms. Freeland, a close ally of the prime minister, accused Mr. Trudeau of engaging in “costly political maneuvers” and being ill-prepared to face the challenge posed by President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Her resignation led to growing calls from Liberal MPs for her to step aside and have someone else lead the party in the general election.
Prime Minister Trudeau has also been under pressure over the resurgence of the Conservative Party, which is now ahead of the Liberals by double digits in recent polls. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took to social media Monday to call alternative governance ‘axe taxes’, ‘build houses’, ‘fix the budget’ and ‘stop taxes’, referring to Trudeau’s unpopular carbon tax. I uploaded a video promoting my vision. crime.”
The upheaval comes as Canada debates how best to deal with President Trump’s pledge to impose tariffs that would overturn a trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico. (President Trump also threatened tariffs on Mexico and said he wanted the two countries to address the problems of drugs and undocumented immigrants flowing into the United States.)
Tariffs could potentially spell ruin for Canada’s economy, which relies heavily on exports, especially oil and automobiles. The United States and Canada are each other’s largest trading partners.
Prime Minister Trudeau visited President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, in late November, and his government announced plans for border security in the hope that the president-elect will reconsider his views. Talks were held to resolve concerns. Tariff threat.
The talks appear to have been fruitless. In early December, President Trump mocked Prime Minister Trudeau on social media, calling him “the great Canadian Governor Justin Trudeau.”
On Monday, President Trump responded to Trudeau’s resignation by again suggesting that Canada should become the “51st state” of the United States, taking to social media to say that if Canada were to merge with the United States, taxes would be reduced and there would be no tariffs.
Among those who could replace Prime Minister Trudeau is Ms. Freeland, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister. Dominic LeBlanc, When Mr. Freeland resigned, he became Secretary of the Treasury. Melanie Jolie, Canada’s top diplomat since 2021; And Mark Carney, Former governor of the Bank of Canada and former head of the Bank of England.
Trudeau, whose government is struggling with a lack of a majority in parliament, said Monday that the legislature has been “completely dominated by obstruction, filibusters and lack of productivity.”
In comments he made in French, he painted an even starker picture of a parliament that was “no longer functioning.”
Suspending parliament, a process known as a moratorium, will give his party time to elect a new leader, which Trudeau said will be followed by a “robust, nationally competitive process.” A new and perhaps more popular leader could further strengthen the Liberal Party’s position in the upcoming general election.
Suspending Congress removes all pending legislation but does not affect the day-to-day workings of the government.
Prime Minister Trudeau has spent a decade building his political brand as a feminist, environmentalist and advocate for refugees and indigenous peoples, pursuing the same message of change and hope as Barack Obama. But analysts say Trudeau’s brand, which appears to be at odds with President Trump’s, is no longer working for him.
“He caught the wave on the way in, and catching a wave can make you feel good,” said Darrell Bricker, a veteran pollster and CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs. “But on the other hand, if you don’t get off, you will hit the ground.”
An Ipsos poll published in late December found the Liberals trailed the Conservatives by 25 percentage points.
The next election must be held by October, but voting could be held or forced earlier.
The new Prime Minister’s Liberal government may be short-lived. And the Liberal government is likely to face a vote of confidence soon after the new session begins. It is likely to lose such a vote, as it holds only a small number of seats in parliament and has lost the support of all other parties. That would trigger a federal election.
The prime minister also has the power to dissolve parliament at any time, which could also trigger elections.
