Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he plans to resign as Liberal Party leader, amid mounting internal dissent.
His announcement on Monday follows a swirl of speculation over his political future following public spats with former allies, a no-confidence motion that was called for later in January and falling poll numbers.
“ Every morning I have woken up as prime minister, I’ve been inspired by the resilience, the generosity and the determination of Canadians,” Trudeau said in remarks from his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa.
In announcing his intention to step down as party leader, he noted the uphill battle the Liberals face as they head into a federal election season. He explained he would step aside once a replacement has been found.
“ This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it is become clear to me that, if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”
Trudeau announced his plan before the Liberal Party’s national caucus on Wednesday.
Here’s what you need to know about Trudeau’s resignation, what led to it, and what this means for Canada.
Who is Trudeau?
Trudeau, 53, swept to power in 2015 and led the Liberals to two more ballot box victories in 2019 and 2021.
The eldest son of the charismatic former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who died in 2000, Justin Trudeau came to politics after working as a snowboard instructor, bartender, bouncer and teacher.
He was first elected to the House of Commons in 2008 to represent a working-class Montreal neighbourhood.
He overhauled the Senate with the aim of making it less political and more transparent by ending partisan appointments and creating an independent, merit-based selection process.
He also signed a new trade deal with the United States and introduced a carbon tax to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions during his first two terms as prime minister.
The father of three also legalised cannabis, held a public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and passed legislation permitting medically assisted suicide.
In Monday’s remarks, Trudeau reflected on some of his accomplishments while in office.
“We got elected in 2015 to fight for the middle class, and that’s exactly what we’ve done over the past years,” he said. “We’ve reduced their taxes, we’ve increased the benefits to families, we made sure the economy was focused on working for everyone and not just a few.”
How did we get here?
Trudeau’s popularity has waned in recent months, with his government narrowly surviving a series of no-confidence votes and critics calling for his resignation.
He had pledged to stay on to guide the Liberals to elections but has faced further pressure from incoming US President Donald Trump, who has threatened a 25-percent tariff on Canadian goods.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland quit in December after disagreeing with Trudeau over how to respond to Trump’s apparent plan, in the first open dissent against the prime minister within his cabinet.
In a post on X, Freeland said she was leaving after Trudeau asked her to step down as finance minister. She cited disagreements with the prime minister, including how to handle Trump’s tariff threat and “‘America first’ economic nationalism”.
Since then, an increasing number of Liberal parliamentarians, alarmed by a series of gloomy polls, have publicly urged Trudeau to quit.
After Trudeau gave into those calls on Monday, many, including Freeland, applauded his decision.
“I thank Justin Trudeau for his years of service to Canada and Canadians. I wish him and his family the very best,” Freeland wrote on social media.
What happens next?
Trudeau has requested that Canada’s Parliament face a period of prorogation, pausing its sessions until March 24. Governor General Mary Simon has approved the request.
As for the Liberals, Trudeau’s departure is set to kick off a competition to name his successor as party leader.
That race comes at a pivotal time for the party, as it faces a federal election, slated to be held before October 20. Polls suggested that, under Trudeau’s leadership, the Liberal Party would have badly lost to the rival Conservatives if the vote were held imminently.
“ I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process,” Trudeau said.
Now that Trudeau has announced his intention to step aside, the Liberals will need to set up a special leadership convention to choose their next head.
The challenge for the party is that these conventions usually take months to arrange and if an election does occur before then, the Liberals would be in the hands of a prime minister not chosen by members.
That has never happened in Canada. The Liberals could try to run a shorter convention than usual, but that might prompt protests from candidates who feel at a disadvantage.
Who are some potential candidates for Liberal Party chief?
Here are some of the politicians widely touted as potential contenders for the Liberal Party’s top job.
- Mark Carney: An economist and banker who served as former governor of the Bank of Canada, he has been advising the Liberal government on economic matters.
- Francois-Philippe Champagne: The minister of innovation, science and industry since 2021, he was the minister of foreign affairs before that.
- Chrystia Freeland: She is the MP for University-Rosedale, Ontario, and the former deputy prime minister. Formerly a close advisor to Trudeau, her departure from his government was seen as a reckoning for his leadership. She is regarded as a credible and stable alternative to Trudeau, and in polls, she fares the best among Liberal politicians before elections.
- Melanie Joly: The current minister of foreign affairs, Joly has been prominent on the international stage and will be tasked with handling Trump-related issues when he takes office. She has been a staunch supporter of Trudeau.
- Dominic LeBlanc: Seen as a close ally of Trudeau, he was appointed finance minister after Freeland’s departure.
How does Trump figure in all of this?
The United States president-elect has threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on its three largest trading partners – Canada, Mexico and China – as soon as he takes office on January 20.
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long-simmering problem,” Trump said in a November post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
Trudeau travelled to Florida in November to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in a bid to head off a trade war.
But the US president-elect has since also landed humiliating blows against Trudeau on social media, repeatedly calling him “governor” of Canada and declaring that the US’s northern neighbour becoming the 51st US state is a “great idea”.
Several of Trump’s allies, including billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also been attacking Trudeau from their platforms.
Musk, for example, greeted the news that Trudeau would step down with a post on his social media platform X: “2025 is looking good.”
Trump likewise celebrated the announcement with a social media post of his own, wherein he repeated his call for Canada to become the US’s “51st state”.
“If Canada merged with the U.S., 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,” Trump wrote. “Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!”
Who is Pierre Poilievre?
He’s the man widely expected to become prime minister after Canada’s next election.
In recent days, Trudeau has trailed the Conservative Party chief by 20 points in public opinion polls.
Poilievre is not known for pulling his punches. He has called Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante “incompetent”, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh a “sellout” and Trudeau “weak” and a “wacko”.
The latter insult saw him temporarily kicked out of the House of Commons for “unparliamentary language” in April. Debates in the Canadian Parliament are usually staid but have become more tense and animated of late.
Like Trump, Poilievre is also a fan of short catchy phrases to encapsulate his political messages.
He has called to “axe the tax”, in reference to a federal carbon tax, and has coined the term “Justinflation” – a portmanteau of the prime minister’s name and the word “inflation”.
Much like Trump, he also likes to describe himself as a victim of mistreatment by elites and traditional media.
He also has low support among women, another similarity with Trump.
In 2022, when he fought for the leadership of the country’s main opposition Conservatives, the career politician with 20 years of experience was nonetheless seen as an outsider, but drew large crowds at his rallies.
Born in Calgary, Poilievre was raised by an adoptive family. He developed a passion for politics at an early age and won a prize during his university studies for an essay on what he would do if he were prime minister.
With polls showing he is likely to win in the next election, he has promised to put “Canada first!” – a slogan akin to Trump’s own “America first!”
Poilievre revisted that slogan on Monday in a social media video celebrating Trudeau’s decision to step aside.
“Canada first, Canada last, Canada always,” he said, calling on voters to rally to his side. “Let’s bring it home.”
