Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday, Jan. 5, 2025 that he will resign as Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party amid growing opposition to his leadership.
In televised remarks outside of his home in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, Trudeau said, “The fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, parliament has been paralyzed for months, after what has been the longest session of a minority parliament in Canadian history”. .
“I intend to resign as party leader, as Prime Minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process”.
By stepping down before the meeting, Trudeau may hope to avoid the perception that he was forced out by his party as it grapples with internal discord and external challenges.
Trudeau said Canada’s parliament will pause until a new leader has been chosen. It will resume in late March, which will allow for a Liberal Party leadership race.
Observers believe Trudeau’s resignation would ignite a leadership contest within the Liberal Party at a precarious moment.
His tenure has been marked by a complicated relationship with Trump, whose policies and rhetoric often clashed with the Canadian leader’s progressive agenda.
Trudeau, a former high school teacher and son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, became prime minister in 2015 after his Liberal Party won a decisive parliamentary majority. The Liberal Party won two more successive elections in 2019 and 2021, but lost the popular vote, requiring him to form a minority government with a left-wing opposition party, leaving his party dependent on allies to pass legislation.
With Canada’s next federal election required by October 2025, the Liberal Party faces an uphill battle to restore public confidence and rally support under a new leader.
