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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces resignation after facing major political pressure

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces resignation after facing major political pressure

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday he intends to resign from his post but will stay until a new leader of the country’s Liberal Party is in place, effectively ending nine years of power.

Trudeau’s departure comes amid mounting pressure for him to step aside before an upcoming election that his Liberal Party is forecasted to lose badly. The leader also has a complicated, oft-adversarial relationship with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to be sworn in later this month.

“Every morning I’ve woken up as prime minister, I’ve been inspired by the resilience, generosity and the determination of Canadians,” Trudeau said in a news conference. “It is the driving force of every single day I have the privilege of serving this office.”

The Canadian leader’s move also comes before an emergency meeting of Liberal legislators that was planned for Wednesday. Trudeau said at a news conference that parliament would be suspended until March 24.

“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.

Here’s what you need to know.

How long has Justin Trudeau been prime minister?

Trudeau, 53, has been leader of Canada’s Liberal Party for 11 years and prime minister of the country for nine.

When he took over as Liberal leader in 2013, the party had been reduced to third place in the House of Commons for the first time, Reuters reported. Trudeau propelled the Liberals to power in 2015 promising “sunny ways” and a progressive agenda focused on women’s rights and fighting climate change.

Why is Justin Trudeau resigning? PM under pressure, at odds with Trump

Calls for Trudeau to step aside have grown since December amid a series of polls showing his Liberal Party being trounced in the next election due to voter anger over high prices and a housing crisis, Reuters reported.

Trudeau has also faced a series of mounting crises, including the abrupt resignation of Canada’s finance minister Chrystia Freeland and Trump’s threat of imposing crippling tariffs when he takes office.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp said more than 50 Liberal members of parliament from Ontario − the most populous of the 10 provinces and the party’s main stronghold − held a call Dec. 21 and agreed Trudeau had to step down.

Trudeau has attempted damage control, even jetting out to West Palm Beach, Florida in late-November for a meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate days after the president-elect vowed to enact a 25% tariff on all products coming into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.

Trudeau has often been at odds with Trump, who has mocked Trudeau as “governor” of Canada while repeatedly joking that the nation should become the 51st U.S. state.2

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Canadian election to take place by October

Trudeau’s exit leaves the Liberal Party without a permanent leader before the general election, which must be held on or before Oct. 20.

The move was expected to spur fresh calls for the election to be moved up so that a stable government can be put in place quickly to deal with the Trump administration for the next four years.

Contributing: Reuters

This story was updated with new information.

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