Embattled Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau says he will resign after new party leader chosen
Justin Trudeau has said he intends to step down after nine years as Canadian prime minister in the face of a mounting set of crises, leaving office once a new ruling 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.
“I care deeply about this country and I will always be motivated by what is in the best interests of Canadians. And the fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority parliament in Canadian history,” he said, adding that the country’s parliament will be suspended until March 24 while a new leader is chosen.
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 the PM 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.
The election must be held on or before October 20, but could be brought forward. Polls show Trudeau’s Liberal Party is set to badly lose to the opposition Conservative Party, led by the firebrand Pierre Poilievre.
“This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles I cannot be the best option in that election,” said Trudeau on Monday.
Trudeau said that Poilievre’s vision “is not the right one for Canadians.”
“Stopping the fight against climate change doesn’t makes sense. Backing off on the values and strength and diversity that Canada has always, always, worked to pull itself together on, is not the right path for the country. Attacking journalists, the CBC institutions: that’s not what Canadians need in this moment. We need an ambitious, optimistic view of the future, and Pierre Poilievre is not offering that,” he said.
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