Canadian TV hosts near tears as ‘pretty boy’ Trudeau announces resignation after disastrous year

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Chief Political Correspondent had tears in her eyes this morning as she reported on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation.

The broadcast from Rosemary Barton, 48, came minutes before the politician confirmed his exit during a speech outside Rideau Cottage, in Ottawa, a little after 11am.

As she waited, a visibly emotional Barton talked up the progressive, hailing his pandemic response and legacy.

This, along with her frazzled emotional state, spawned a storm of critical comments on social media, as many reminded her of what led to the decision. Others predicted that the staffer’s job – thanks to Trudeau’s potential replacement – was ‘toast’.

She remained glassy-eyed and choked up for much of the broadcast, which continued after Trudeau’s announcement.

She said nothing negative regarding the Trudeau leadership, which has been hanging over Canada for going on 12 years.

Trudeau, meanwhile, said the country’s parliament will be suspended until March 24 as a new leader is chosen, after his time at the top paved the way for a potential landslide liberal party loss if he stayed.

Polls and protests ahead of Trudeau’s resignation made that abundantly clear, but Barton appeared to still take it to heart. As onlookers took notice, other Canadians appearing on the air waves also insisted Trudeau’s terms were successful, sparking speculation.

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The broadcast came minutes before the politician confirmed his exit during a speech outside Rideau Cottage, in Ottawa, a little after 11am, and spawned some critical comments on social media

‘Rosie Barton is just vile. Just vile. The coverage for this announcement is as expected,’ wrote one onlooker of the anchor’s display.

‘Rosie Barton is crying on the CBC,’ added another. ‘Gotta love it! It will be a glorious day when the CBC is finally defunded.’

‘Wonder if @RosieBarton was tearfully taking down her Justin posters in her girl power bedroom last night,’ joked another, of a woman who over the past decade has become a fixture on the channel, each year interviewing Trudeau herself.

‘@CBCNews should put old Rosie on suicide watch now that her reason for being is getting kicked out of govt,’ the commenter sniped.

‘Watching CBC… @RosieBarton is on the verge of tears,’ noticed someone else. ‘Trembling voice and all… talking about Trudeau’s legacy and how much Canada supposedly owes him. Aww.’

Several others expressed more of the same, as Barton at one point joked about losing out on her regular, year-end interview with the 53-year-old, whose tenure has given way to a pronounced housing crisis.

Meanwhile, floated replacement Pierre Poilievere, a conservative, has threatened to defund the CBC.

‘Rosie Barton is looking at unemployment,’ thus joked one X user. ‘So much for objective journalism,’ added another.

Barton’s frazzled emotional state, spawned a storm of critical comments on social media, as many reminded her of what led to the decision. Others predicted the staffer’s job was ‘toast’

Her fate at the network is somewhat uncertain, after Trudeau’s likely replacement has pondered ‘defunding’ the government station

The storm of comments honed in a figure, who over the past decade, has become a fixture on the channel, each year interviewing Trudeau herself

Someone else shared a meme similarly suggesting that Barton’s ‘job [was] toast,’ as other networks reported on the Trudeau situation in real-time as well.

Sitting down with CTV, public opinion pollster Nik Nanos also spoke highly of Trudeau, praising him for helping Canada ‘navigate through the first Trump presidency.’

He further hailed the liberal leader for getting the country ‘through the pandemic,’ and ‘advanc[ing] a number of progressive policies.’

Soundbites of those comments quickly circulated on social media as well, and were promptly met with scrutiny.

‘I’m on the disagree side,’ wrote on onlooker as Trudeau made swirling rumors of his exit official.

‘First time watching national TV in a while and it confirms not to watch,’ scathed another.

Added some else: ‘I wanted to see Pierre Poilievre destroy Trudeau and the Liberals in an election. Oh well, we’ll have to settle for decimation of the Liberal Party.’

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party in Canada had set an emergency meeting for Wednesday to discuss how to handle the growing rift within the party, with Trudeau stepping aside before the gathering could take place. 

other networks reported on the Trudeau situation in real-time as well, with public opinion pollster Nik Nanos sitting down with CTV to praise the politician for, in his own words, helping Canada ‘navigate through the first Trump presidency’ and the pandemic

Outside his Rideau Cottage residence in Ottawa, Trudeau delivered a speech that a printed version seemed to suggest was made off the cuff

Protesters in Ottawa are seen airing their distaste for the liberal leader in 2022, with his popularity since plummeting further

Outside his Rideau Cottage residence in Ottawa, Trudeau delivered a speech that a printed version seemed to suggest was made off the cuff.

‘I intend to resign as Party Leader, as Prime Minister, after the Party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process,’ Trudeau announced in remarks delivered in English and then French.  

He will remain in power until his party selects a new leader, which will need to be done before general elections in the fall.

The father-of-three served as Prime Minister since November 2015, and during his separattion from wife Sophie, announced in August 2023.

He disclosed that he told his kids about his decision at dinner in Sunday night, as issues like inflation and a housing shortage under his reign have become too much to bear for most Canadians, evidenced by recent protests and polls across the country. 

The politician’s encounters with citizens – and his relationship with President-elect Trump – had become increasingly testy in recent months, further cementing his ouster.

Trump has promised to impose high tariffs on Canada when he becomes president – leading one of the politician’s most loyal cabinet members, upon resigning last month, to reveal his waning faith in the prime minister.

‘Our country is facing a grave challenge,’ Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland warned at the time. 

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‘That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war.’ She said that she felt Trudeau was not prepared to respond appropriately to such a fate.

Meanwhile, since their meeting in Mar-a-Lago in November, Trump has repeatedly joked that Canada could be absorbed by the US as a 51st state.

He has also mercilessly mocked ‘pretty boy’ Trudeau’s strength, calling him the ‘governor.’