PM Trudeau of Canada has announced that he will resign in the wake of the appointment of a new leader of the Liberal Party

Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, declared on Monday that he will relinquish his position as the leader of the Liberal Party after nine years in office. However, he will continue to remain in his position until the party elects a successor.

At a news conference, Trudeau announced that parliament would be suspended until March 24, citing the overwhelming pressure from Liberal legislators to resign in the wake of surveys indicating that the party will be defeated at the upcoming election.

This implies that Trudeau will continue to serve as prime minister on January 20, the date on which Donald Trump assumes the presidency of the United States. Trump has issued a threat to implement tariffs that would significantly harm Canada’s economy.

“I intend to resign as party leader as prime minister after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process,” the Canadian leader stated. “This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”

Trudeau, 53, assumed office in November 2015 and was reelected twice, thereby becoming one of Canada’s longest-serving prime ministers.

However, his fortunes never recovered, as his popularity began to decline two years ago amid public outrage over high prices and a housing shortage.

Polls indicate that the Liberals will suffer a significant defeat to the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be conducted by late October, irrespective of the leader’s identity.

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The opposition parties had pledged to overthrow the government as soon as possible, with the likelihood of doing so by the end of March, and Parliament was scheduled to reconvene on January 27. However, the earliest possible date for the presentation of a non-confidence motion would be in May if parliament does not reconvene until March 24.

Trudeau had up until recently been able to fend off Liberal legislators who were concerned about the dismal performance in surveys and the loss of safe seats in two special elections last year.

However, there has been a significant increase in the number of calls for his resignation since last month, when he attempted to demote Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is one of his closest cabinet allies, after she opposed his proposals for increased expenditure.

Instead, Freeland resigned and composed a letter in which she accused Trudeau of employing “political gimmicks” rather than prioritizing the country’s interests.

Pierre Poilievre, a career politician, is the leader of the Conservatives. He gained recognition in early 2022 when he supported truck drivers who occupied the center of Ottawa as part of a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.