Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to donors during the Laurier Club Holiday Party at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 16, 2024. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17361828818541736182921070.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=" Canada&#x27;s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to donors during the Laurier Club Holiday Party at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 16, 2024. Dave Chan, AFP/file"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Canada&#x27;s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to donors during the Laurier Club Holiday Party at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 16, 2024. <em>Dave Chan, AFP/file</em></span></span></span></div><p>Canada&#x27;s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation Monday, saying he would leave office as soon as his party chooses a new leader, with slumping polls and internal division taking their toll.</p><p>After more than nine years in power, Trudeau&#x27;s support within the ruling Liberal party began crumbling in 2024 due to intensifying public criticism focused on the rising cost of living.</p><p>His authority was then shaken by the surprise departure last month of his finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland.</p><p>&quot;I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader,&quot; Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa following a slow-rolling political crisis that saw top Liberal allies urge him to quit.</p><p>It was not immediately clear how long Trudeau, 53, would remain in office as a caretaker premier.</p><p>He said the Liberal leadership race will be &quot;a robust, nationwide competitive process.&quot;</p><p>That means Trudeau will continue to lead Canada when incoming US president Donald Trump takes office this month and will be tasked with leading the country&#x27;s initial response to the new US administration, including a possible trade war.</p><p>Trump has vowed to impose 25-percent tariffs on all Canadian imports, which could prove devastating to the Canadian economy, and Trudeau has pledged to retaliate.</p><p>The US president-elect reacted to Trudeau&#x27;s quitting by again airing his unlikely proposal that Canada should merge with its southern neighbor.</p><p>&quot;Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!&quot; he wrote on social media.</p><p>US President Joe Biden&#x27;s outgoing administration praised Trudeau as a &quot;stalwart friend&quot; of the United States.</p><p>White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Washington would &quot;stand with&quot; Canada and its people as they pick a new leader.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wEyrHR0IwDY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><strong>HAD YOUTHFUL ENERGY </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Before taking over the Liberal party in 2013, Trudeau was not a leading political figure.</p><p>His most prominent political attribute at the time was arguably the fact that his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, had been one of Canada&#x27;s most famous prime ministers.</p><p>But Trudeau&#x27;s youthful energy and fluency on issues that increasingly mattered to Canadians, including climate change, helped him oust Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2015 elections.</p><p>Across the country, Trudeau&#x27;s resignation did not surprise.</p><p>&quot;He should have resigned over a year ago,&quot; said Toronto resident Rob Gwett, 29, adding that today&#x27;s announcement was &quot;better late than never.&quot;</p><p>Trudeau&#x27;s Liberals are trailing badly in the polls to the opposition Conservatives.</p><p>He conceded Monday that he was not the best candidate to lead the party into an election that must be held this year.</p><p>&quot;This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I&#x27;m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,&quot; he said.</p><p>Canadian media have tipped Freeland as a possible Liberal leader, along with the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, a Canadian who also led the Bank of Canada.</p><p>Several others are expected to join the race which could take multiple months. Liberal party president Sachit Mehra confirmed the contest will kick off this week.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ACCUSED OF GIMMICKS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In her scathing resignation letter, Freeland had accused Trudeau of focusing on political gimmicks to appease voters, including a costly Christmas tax holiday, instead of steadying Canada&#x27;s finances ahead of Trump&#x27;s promised tariffs.</p><p>Freeland offered a muted response to Trudeau&#x27;s impending departure, thanking him for his &quot;years of service to Canada and Canadians,&quot; in a post on X.</p><p>Whoever takes over, Andre Lamoureux of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) said they are unlikely to manage to build fresh enthusiasm around the party.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a lost cause,&quot; he said.</p><p>Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre indicated he was ready to take on whoever the Liberals put forward, dismissing all contenders for having &quot;supported EVERYTHING Trudeau did for 9 years,&quot; in a post on X.</p><p>Trudeau&#x27;s minority government had been propped up by a deal with the left-wing New Democratic Party but in December the NDP said they would vote to topple Trudeau at the next opportunity.</p><p>Trudeau has received permission from Canada&#x27;s governor general to suspend all parliamentary business until March 24.</p><p>That could give the Liberals time to choose a new leader while restricting the opposition&#x27;s chances to bring a vote of no-confidence.</p>

<p>Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation Monday, saying he would leave office as soon as his party chooses a new leader, with slumping polls and internal division taking their toll.</p>

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation Monday, saying he would leave office as soon as his party chooses a new leader, with slumping polls and internal division taking their toll.

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Trudeau announces resignation as Canada PM

Trudeau announces resignation as Canada PM

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 07, 2025 01:02 AM PHT

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Updated Jan 07, 2025 03:32 PM PHT

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Justin Trudeau

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