Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigns as Liberal Party leader

Canada’s Justin Trudeau on Monday said he will step down as the Liberal Party’s governing body but will remain as prime minister until a new leader is chosen before a general election scheduled for later this year. October.

“I intend to step down as party leader, as prime minister after the party has chosen its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process,” he said during a press conference on Monday. “Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to start this process. This country deserves a real choice in the next elections, and it has become clear to me that if I have to fight internal battles, I cannot not be the best option in this election”.

He added that the Canadian parliament will be prorogued – suspending its activity – until March 24, when a vote of confidence will be held.

“Parliament has been full of obstruction and filibustering and a total lack of productivity in recent months. We are now the longest minority government in history, and it’s time for a reset,” Trudeau said.

The domestic press had reported that he was expected to announce his resignation before a key meeting of the national caucus on Wednesday. Canadian stocks were slightly higher after the news. The S&P TSX index was up 0.1%, and the Canadian dollar gained 0.5% to 1.4373 against its US counterpart. The iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC) rose 0.5%.

Canada’s latest political crisis was sparked by the sudden departure of former Trudeau ally and deputy finance minister Chrystia Freeland, who resigned in December, citing differences over Ottawa’s response to future nationalism business of the United States over the next four years under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. .

Dominic LeBlanc has since been appointed to replace her and head of the ministerial portfolio of finance.

Trudeau, 53, who took office in 2015 and won re-election twice, suffered a fall in voter popularity to just 19% after Freeland’s departure, Abacus Data polled. found on December 17. Angus Reid, on December 30, pronounced a “year of bruises for the federal Liberals” and assessed only 16% of popular support for the party – its weakest level since the institute began to follow in 2014. Trudeau’s resignation leaves a successor at most only months to prepare an election campaign.

The opposition Conservative Party now has a lead of more than 20% in the polls ahead of the general election – and its firebrand leader Pierre Poilievre has won the praise of Trump ally Elon Musk, who recently . praised his “big interview”.

Despite growing calls for his resignation, Trudeau had been reluctant to step down since mid-December, and the Liberal Party has no mechanism to oust its leader without consensus.

In a new blow to Trudeau, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the left-wing New Democratic Party, announced on December 20. in an open letter the intention to present a motion to oust the Trudeau government, paving the way for an election.

“Justin Trudeau has failed in the most important task incumbent on a prime minister: to work for the people and not for the powerful,” Singh said, according to a CNBC translation. “Justin Trudeau’s Liberals made a lot of nice promises. Yet, they let the people down, time and time again.”

Trudeau has recently presided over a Canadian economy that has only bled inflation below its 2% target. in Novemberbut remains beaten by family debt, rising unemploymentu worse productivity performance in the OECD in 2023 and the panoptic exposure to the United States – where President-elect Trump, belittling the “governor” Trudeau, has already teased the possibility of both 25% fee and annexation.

Differences over Canada’s response to Trump’s “aggressive economic nationalism” finally split Freeland from Trudeau last month.

“We need to take this threat very seriously,” he warned in his resignation letteremphasizing “the serious challenges presented by the United States” and urging the push against “‘America First’ economic nationalism with a determined effort to fight for capital and the investment and jobs they bring.”

— CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report.