Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is stepping down as the leader of the ruling Liberal Party, following months of pressure from partymates to resign amid increasingly poor public approval ratings.
“I intend to resign as party leader as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau said at a press conference Monday morning.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The Globe and Mail first reported on Sunday that Trudeau would leave his party leadership post this week ahead of a key party caucus on Wednesday, citing three unnamed sources. (Reuters also reported Trudeau’s impending resignation, citing an unnamed source.) Those sources told the Canadian paper that it remains unclear if Trudeau will step down as Prime Minister immediately or stay on until a new party leader is selected.
Trudeau’s resignation comes before a federal parliamentary election that must happen by October 2025, but it can be held earlier if the House of Commons passes a motion of no-confidence to dissolve the incumbent Liberal government.
Why Trudeau stepped down
Trudeau’s nine-year tenure as Canadian Prime Minister has become tenuous, with two-thirds of Canadians disapproving of his performance, amid frustration over the cost of living and record immigration levels. The Liberal Party now trails the opposition Conservative Party by more than 20 percentage points and voter support hit a record low by the end of 2024.
The party does not hold an outright majority in Parliament and has relied on the backing of the more left-leaning New Democratic Party through a supply-and-confidence agreement, which the NDP dropped in September. The separatist Bloc Quebecois also dropped its support for the Liberals in October, with its leader saying it wanted to topple Trudeau’s government. These moves, along with recent losses in by-elections in formerly Liberal strongholds, pushed party members to hold a closed-door caucus meeting in late October in Ottawa, where they urged Trudeau to resign.
Pressure on Trudeau grew further following the Dec. 16 shock resignation of one of his closest allies, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, after he tried to demote her. In her resignation letter, Freeland accused Trudeau of “costly political gimmicks” over plans to cancel sales tax and hand out $250 checks for Christmas. Freeland said Canada needed to keep its “fiscal powder dry” ahead of a possible trade war amid Trump’s threat to slap a 25% tariff on all goods from Canada.
Trudeau has since shuffled his Cabinet, but the likelihood of elections being called sooner grew after NDP leader Jagmeet Singh issued a letter on Dec. 20 stating that his party “will vote to bring this government down” and put forward a motion of no-confidence. Canada’s Parliament is on winter break and is scheduled to resume on Jan. 27.
What could happen next?
The Liberal Party constitution states that upon resignation, the party board of directors, in consultation with the caucus, should appoint an “interim leader.”
But time may not be on Liberals’ side in its selection of a replacement for Trudeau, with the incoming Trump administration and a looming general election. The party constitution states that nominees must submit nominations at least 90 days before a scheduled leadership vote. But it also states that the party board can change the date of a leadership vote and “alter any arrangements already made” if three-quarters of its voting members “determines that political circumstances require that the date be reset.”
Among the Liberal candidates who have been floated to potentially succeed Trudeau as party leader are Freeland; new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc; Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly; Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne; and Transport and Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand.
Trudeau may also ask the Governor General Mary Simon, who represents the monarch in Canada, to prorogue—essentially pause—Parliament to delay a no-confidence vote, though such a move would likely face legal hurdles.
