Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would resign in the coming months due to his Liberal Party’s dismal performance in pre-election polls, Reuters reported.
Trudeau declared that he would not leave office until the party selected a new leader within a few months. He also announced that parliament would be suspended until 24 March.
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.
The next election is due on 20 October. In recent weeks, frustrated Liberal lawmakers openly called for Trudeau to resign after his finance minister stepped down. Polls also showed that voters unhappy with high prices and a shortage of affordable housing were likely to choose the opposition Conservatives.
Trudeau, 53, took office in November 2015 and was re-elected twice. That made him one of Canada’s longest-serving prime ministers. However, his popularity began to fall two years ago when food and housing prices rose in the post COVID-19 period and failed to recover.
Parliament was originally due to resume on 27 January, with opposition parties vowing to oust Trudeau’s minority government. However, they would not be able to submit a vote of no confidence until May at the earliest, as parliament would only return on 24 March.
Calls for Trudeau’s resignation surged since last month when he sought to demote Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. She had previously opposed his proposals to increase spending. Freeland and former central bank governor Mark Carney issued short statements thanking Trudeau for his service.
Following Trudeau’s statement, US President-elect Donald Trump repeated previous comments that Canada could become the 51st US state.
The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned.
