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Justin Trudeau on Monday announced his resignation as Canadian PM and Liberal Party leader amid soaring unpopularity and party revolt in an election year.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday. (Reuters)
Justin Trudeau on Monday announced his resignation as the Prime Minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party, marking an end to his nine-year tenure as one of the youngest PMs of the country. The 53-year-old Trudeau reflected on his political journey and his single regret during a packed press conference in Ottawa.
The under-fire Trudeau faced a revolt from members of his own party and growing public hostility in an election year where rivals Conservatives are polling ahead of their main rivals. He was facing criticism about lax immigration laws, rising crime and inflation.
“I am fighter. Every bone in my body has told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians and this country. I intend to resign as party leader and prime minister after the party elects its new leader,” he said at a press conference in Ottawa.
He also said the parliament would be suspended till March 24, which means that an election is unlikely to be held before May and Trudeau would still be PM when US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
‘If I Have One Regret…’: Trudeau
Reflecting on his political journey, Trudeau listed his administration’s support for Ukraine and his policy during the Covid-19 pandemic, as being among his greatest achievements since he took power in 2015.
“If I have one regret, particularly as we approach this election…well, there are probably many regrets that I will think of, but I do wish that we’d been able to change the way we elect our governments in this country so that people could simply choose a second choice or a third choice on the same ballot so that parties would spend more time trying to be people’s second or third choices,” he told reporters in Ottawa.
“People would have been looking for things they have in common instead of trying to polarise and divide Canadians against each other. I think in this time, figuring out how to pull together and find common ground remains something that is really important for democracies,” he added.
Why Did Trudeau Resign?
Trudeau took office in November 2015 and won reelection twice, becoming one of Canada’s longest-serving prime ministers. However, his popularity sank drastically amid public anger over high prices and a housing shortage, along with his foreign policy missteps by alienating India with support to pro-Khalistan groups and also earning the ire of the US.
The recent criticism came over his reaction to tariff threats issued by US President-elect Donald Trump, who has mocked Trudeau and called for Canada to merge as the 51st state of the United States. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland quit in December after disagreeing with Trudeau over how to respond to Trump’s apparent plan, in the first open dissent against the PM from within the cabinet.
“I thank Justin Trudeau for his years of service to Canada and Canadians. I wish him and his family the very best,” Freeland wrote after Trudeau’s resignation announcement.
Sachit Mehra, the president of the Liberal party, said the process of selecting who will succeed Trudeau will begin this week. “We thank him for his service to Canada, and we look forward to his continued leadership until a new leader is chosen,” Mehra said.
(with agency inputs)
