Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes the announcement outside Rideau House in Ottawa on Monday, January 6, 2025.
Adrian Wilder | The Canadian Press via AP
Canada’s Justin Trudeau said on Monday he would resign from the ruling Liberal Party but would remain as prime minister until a new leader is chosen before an election in late October.
“I intend to step down as leader and prime minister after the party selects its next leader through a robust national competitive process,” he told a news conference on Monday. “Last night, I asked the Liberal Party president to begin this process. Process. The country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it’s clear to me that I can’t be the best choice in that election if I have to fight internally.
He added that Canada’s Parliament will be prorogued, suspending its activities until a confidence vote on March 24.
“Over the past few months, Parliament has been completely dominated by obstruction and obstruction and a complete lack of productivity,” Trudeau said. “We are now the longest-serving minority government in history, and it’s time to reset.”
Domestic media reports said he is expected to announce his resignation ahead of a key national caucus meeting on Wednesday. Canadian stocks edged higher after the news. The S&P TSX rose 0.1% and the Canadian dollar rose 0.5% against the U.S. dollar to 1.4373. The iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC) rose 0.5%.
Canada’s latest political crisis was triggered by the sudden departure of former Trudeau ally, deputy minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, who resigned in December over concerns that Ottawa was in the midst of President-elect Donald Trump’s impending The administration’s response to U.S. trade nationalism over the next four years is divided.
Dominic LeBlanc has since been appointed to replace her and lead the Treasury secretary position.
Trudeau, 53, took office in 2015 and won re-election twice, but his voter support plummeted to 19 per cent after Freeland stepped down, according to pollster Abacus Data. Found on December 17. Angus Reid declares ‘a battering year for the federal Liberals’ on December 30, assesses Public support rate is only 16% The party’s approval rating is its lowest since the institute began tracking it in 2014.
The opposition Conservative Party currently leads by more than 20% in pre-election opinion polls, with its firebrand leader Pierre Poilievre winning praise from Trump ally Elon Musk. The latter recently commend His “wonderful interview”
Trudeau has voiced opposition to taking such a step since mid-December, despite growing calls for him to resign, and the Liberals lack a mechanism to oust their leader without consent.
On December 20, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the United Left New Democratic Party, announced a new blow to Trudeau. in an open letter Plans to introduce a motion to overthrow the Trudeau government and pave the way for an election.
“Justin Trudeau has failed in the prime minister’s most important task: working for the people, not the powerful,” Singh said, according to CNBC. “Justin Trudeau’s liberals have done a lot of good things. Promises. Yet they have failed the people time and time again.”
Trudeau’s recent leadership of Canada’s economy has kept inflation just below the 2% target Novemberbut still hit by household debt, unemployment rate risesthis Worst productivity performance Join the OECD in 2023 and provide a panoramic exposure of the United States – President-elect Trump disparages “Governor” Trudeau and has already teased the imposition of 25% tariffs and annex.
Differences in Canada’s response to Trump’s “radical economic nationalism” culminated in Freeland’s split with Trudeau last month.
“We need to take this threat very seriously,” she warned. in her resignation letterEmphasizing the “serious challenge posed by the United States” and urging resistance to “America First” economic nationalism, we resolutely fight for capital and investment and the jobs they bring.
— CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report.