After months of growing speculation, Justin Trudeau has announced he is resigning as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and proroguing Parliament until March 24.
But Trudeau announced Monday he will stay as Prime Minister on until a new Liberal leader is chosen. The announcement comes amid waning support within his caucus and dismal polling numbers.
During his announcement, the Prime Minister admitted he is not the person to lead the Liberal party into the next election.
"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.
The chorus of Liberal MPs calling for his ouster became impossible to ignore following Chrystia Freeland's bombshell resignation from cabinet last month, hours before she was expected to deliver the fall economic statement. Liberal caucuses in Atlantic Canada, Ontario, and Quebec have demanded a change.
Liberal MPs intended to urge Trudeau to step aside on Wednesday during an emergency caucus meeting. It would have been the second meeting where MPs expressed their doubts the Liberals would win a fourth straight election with Trudeau at the helm. Their concerns came after a couple of disappointing defeats for the Liberals in byelections and lagging support in the polls. The Conservatives and party leader Pierre Poilievre have consistently held a 20-point plus lead, which grew to 26-points in recent weeks. The same polling pegged support for Trudeau's party at a mere 16 per cent.
The Globe and Mail first reported that Trudeau was prepared to step aside after taking time during the Christmas Break to reflect on his future.
The Prime Minister's itinerary for Monday initially did not mention any special announcements but instead said he would participate virtually in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations.
In three weeks, U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated in Washington after threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports.
"We need to take that threat seriously," wrote Freeland in her resignation letter to the Prime Minister. "That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment."
Trudeau met with Trump soon after the election at Mar-a-Lago to assuage his concerns about lax border security. There have been follow-up meetings since with Trump's transition team and members of Trudeau's cabinet.
While Canadian officials insisted those meetings went well, Trump made several social media posts describing Trudeau as the Governor of the 51st State.
Trudeau was elected with much optimism in 2015, defeating Stephen Harper and ending a decade of Conservative rule. He followed the majority win up in 2019 with a minority win against then-Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer and a second minority government win in 2021 against Erin O'Toole.