Press conference, , granted by , announcing his intention to resign from , as soon as a new leader is elected in the Liberal Party.
“Last night I told my children what I am now announcing to you, that I intend to resign when the process of my replacement is completed. The people deserve a real choice in the next election, and I cannot be the best choice in the midst of infighting,” Trudeau said, speaking in both English and French.
According to him, the parliament has been “paralyzed for months”. Trudeau has requested a suspension until March 24 to give the party time to conduct an internal election process to elect a new leader.
If the request is approved, it would mean Trudeau would be prime minister on Jan. 20, when Donald Trump takes office. Parliament was scheduled to reopen on January 27, and opposition parties have said they intend to table a no-confidence motion as soon as they get the chance, possibly at the end of March. If parliament starts on March 24, the earliest possible date for a motion of no confidence would be in May.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference as he is expected to make an announcement about his political future.
— Sky News (@SkyNews)
The 53-year-old Trudeau, who has been in office for the past nine years, suffered a series of blows after the surprise resignation in mid-month of his government’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, who accused the prime minister of political gimmicks, amid simmering disputes. on how to deal with the increasingly clear trade war outline, as Donald Trump returns on January 20 to the White House.
Dozens of MPs from the ruling Liberals have called for the prime minister’s resignation, as the faction is now a minority in parliament. As many as 75 Liberal MPs from Ontario — the Canadian capital state of Ottawa and Toronto — withdrew their support en masse.
The Canadian prime minister, who has led his party to two electoral victories in 2019 and 2021, is 20 points behind his conservative rival Pierre Poilievre, based on recent polls, as a result of punctuality and homelessness.
Possible replacements for Trudeau
The former deputy prime minister has long been seen as a potential successor to Trudeau. She is a Member of Parliament for Toronto, originally from the province of Alberta in western Canada, and who worked as a journalist before entering politics. Freeland was Canada’s first female finance minister before abruptly resigning in December over a rift with Trudeau.
Former central banker Mark Carney previously headed both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. A liberal who has served in recent months as a special adviser to Trudeau, he is said to be a longtime contender for the party leadership position
Mélanie Jolie, the foreign minister, is a Quebec politician who, like Trudeau, represents a constituency in the Montreal area. Jolie, an Oxford-educated lawyer, is a familiar face to many, having represented Canada on the world stage since 2021. She was handpicked by Trudeau to run at the federal level.
Dominique LeBlanc, the finance and intergovernmental affairs minister, is a longtime friend of Trudeau and one of his closest allies, whom he has trusted to take on portfolios in times of political crisis. He has been a parliamentarian for more than two decades and has previously shown ambitions to lead the Liberal Party, campaigning in 2008 but losing to Michael Ignatieff.
Christy Clark, a former British Columbia premier, has been out of federal politics, but in recent months has expressed interest in running for the Liberal leadership.
