Justin Trudeau has said he will step down as Canada’s prime minister after his party finds a new leader, a decision that in effect brings an end to nearly a decade in power.
“Canadians deserve a clear choice in the next election,” Trudeau said, adding that party infighting had made it impossible for him to face off against his political rivals. Trudeau said would stay on as prime minister until a new leader of the ruling Liberal party was chosen through a “robust, nationwide” process.
His resignation throws open the doors to a fierce political battle to be the country’s next leader, with polls showing the Liberals losing badly to the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October, regardless of who the leader is.
Trudeau, who used his address to recount his government’s accomplishments over three terms, said parliament would be suspended until 24 March.
His decision to resign also comes at a time when deep anxiety has settled over Canadian politics before Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president. Canadian officials increasingly fear US tariffs will devastate the country’s economy and a prorogued parliament is unlikely to ease these fears.
Hours after Trudeau said he would resign, Trump revived his running jibe on social media about persuading Canada to seek US statehood.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat,” the incoming president wrote.
“Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned. If Canada merged with the US, there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!”
Trudeau had attempted to placate the incoming US president, both with an array of policy concessions and a visit to Florida, where they posed smiling for a photo. He told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation he had promised Trump Canada would shore up border security.
Days later, however, Trump publicly mocked Trudeau, belittling him as the “governor” of Canada, as if his country were merely a US state.
Reaction from Trudeau’s political rivals to his decision to step down was swift and unforgiving.
“Nothing has changed,” said Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader. “Every Liberal MP and leadership contender supported everything Trudeau did for nine years, and now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another four years, just like Justin.”
Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic party, said in a statement that the Liberals “do not deserve another chance, no matter who is the leader”. Singh propped up the Liberal’s minority government for three years under a confidence and supply agreement, but withdraw his support at the end of 2024.
Earlier in the day, Trudeau met the governor general, Mary Simon, and requested the prorogation of parliament until 24 March in order to give the party sufficient time to find a new leader. Lawmakers were due to return in late January and the Conservatives, also known as the Tories, had pledged to bring down the government with a vote of non-confidence, which could have forced an election.
A meeting of the national caucus is expected to take place later in the day in order to plan for the transition to a new leader.
The 53-year-old Trudeau has led the ruling Liberal party since 2013 and became prime minister in November 2015. Until recently, he had told reporters on numerous occasions he expected to lead the Liberals into the next election.
But the recent developments reflect Trudeau’s waning popularity – and that of his governing Liberals. In recent months, the party has after lost both political strongholds in recent byelections and prominent cabinet ministers. Recent polling has the Liberals at 16% support, their worst pre-election standing in more than a century.
For Trudeau, the reversal of fortunes has been in the works for years as the public slowly soured on a leader whose historic surname, good looks and charisma elevated him into a global celebrity, or, as a 2016 Vogue profile put it, the “new young face of Canadian politics”.
At home, however, his reputation has – like those of many incumbents in power over the past year – become increasingly tarnished by high inflation and out-of-control housing prices.
But a leader seemingly attuned to the mood of the country found himself embroiled in series of personal scandals, including a family trip to the Aga Khan’s private island, skipping out on the country’s first national day of truth and reconciliation for a surfing vacation, and revelations that members of his family were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by a charity to which his government recently awarded a substantial contract.
In each case, Trudeau’s apparent inability to understand public outrage helps to explain his refusal to step down – and seemingly blinded him to the growing dissatisfaction which threatens to cast a shadow over his political legacy.
Almost two dozen backbench Liberal MPs signed a letter calling on Trudeau to step down late last year over fears of a potentially seismic electoral defeat.
In mid-December Trudeau’s closest political ally, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, stepped down amid a row over the appropriate response to Donald Trump’s looming economic nationalism. Her scathing resignation letter accused Trudeau of “costly political gimmicks” and cast doubt on his understanding of the “gravity of the moment”.
Federal law requires an election be held by October 2025 but with all opposition parties saying publicly they no longer have confidence in the governing Liberals, an election is certain when parliament returns in late March.
The Tories are expected to win a majority government given current polling. But that result could sway substantially depending on the new leaders the Liberals choose.