Justin Trudeau says he will resign as Canada PM

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation Monday, saying he will leave office as soon as his party chooses a new leader as slumping polls and internal division took their toll.

After more than nine years in power, Trudeau's support within the ruling Liberal party began crumbling in 2024 due to intensifying public criticism focused on the rising cost of living.

His authority was then badly shaken by the surprise departure last month of his finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland.

"I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader," Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa following a slow-rolling political crisis that saw top Liberal allies urge him to quit.

It was not immediately clear how long Trudeau, 53, will remain in office as a caretaker premier.

He said the Liberal leadership race will be "a robust, nationwide competitive process."

That means Trudeau will continue to lead Canada when incoming US president Donald Trump takes office this month and will be tasked with leading the country's initial response to the new US administration, including a possible trade war. 

Trump has vowed to impose 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian imports, which could prove devastating to the Canadian economy, and Trudeau has pledged to retaliate.

The US president-elect reacted to Trudeau's quitting by again airing his unlikely proposal that Canada should merge with its southern neighbour.

"Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!" he wrote on social media.

Youthful energy

Before taking over the Liberal party in 2013, Trudeau was not a leading political figure.

His most prominent political attribute at the time was arguably the fact that his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, had been one of Canada's most famous prime ministers.

But Trudeau's youthful energy and fluency on issues that increasingly mattered to Canadians, including climate change, helped him oust Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2015 elections.

Across the country, Trudeau's resignation did not surprise. 

"It's a bit of a relief, not just for myself, but also for him, because he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders," Ottawa resident Annette Sousa, 64, told AFP.

"He should have resigned over a year ago," said Toronto resident Rob Gwett, 29, adding that today's announcement was "better late than never."

Trudeau's Liberals are trailing badly in the polls to the opposition Conservatives.

He conceded Monday that he was not the best candidate to lead the party into an election that must be held this year.

"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," he said.

Canadian media have tipped Freeland as a possible contender to taker over the Liberal Party along with the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, a Canadian who also previously led the Bank of Canada.

Several others are expected to join the race.

Accused of gimmicks

In her scathing resignation letter, Freeland had accused Trudeau of focusing on political gimmicks to appease voters, including a costly Christmas tax holiday, instead of steadying Canada's finances ahead of Trump's promised tariffs.

Lori Turnbull, a political science professor at Dalhousie University, said traditionally a Liberal leadership race would take four to six months but this time "they've got to be quicker than that."

Whomever takes over, Andre Lamoureux of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) said they are unlikely to manage to build fresh enthusiasm around the party. "It's a lost cause," he said.

Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre indicated he was ready to take on whoever the Liberals put forward. 

"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," he posted on X.

Trudeau's government narrowly survived three non-confidence votes brought by the Conservative in parliament late last year.

His minority government had been propped up by a deal with the left-wing New Democratic Party but in December the NDP said they would vote to topple Trudeau at the next opportunity. 

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters that "the Liberals have let down Canadians... They do not deserve another chance."

Trudeau confirmed that he had received permission from Canada's governor general to suspend all parliamentary business until March 24. 

That could give the Liberals time to choose a new leader while restricting the opposition chances to bring a vote of non-confidence.

– TIMES/AFP