Table of Contents
Ottawa, Canada:
Justin Trudeau today resigned as leader of his Liberal Party of Canada, effectively ending his nine-year term as Prime Minister of Canada. He will now remain acting prime minister until his successor is elected. The move comes amid growing dissent against him within his party. He held a news conference today outside his home at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, where he made the announcement in English and French.
“I have informed my party and the Governor that I intend to resign as leader of the party and as Prime Minister of Canada, and that I will do so once my successor has been appointed through a robust nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau said .
The 53-year-old Trudeau also said that although he is a “fighter”, parliament is completely “paralyzed” under his leadership.
“I hereby prorogue Parliament until March 24 to begin the process of finding a new leader to lead the party and Canada until the elections scheduled for later this year,” he added.
He further stated: “A new Prime Minister and leader of the party will take his values and ideals into the next election, and I am excited to see that process unfold.”
Speaking about his regrets, Justin Tudeau said: “If I regret anything… I wish we could have changed the way we elect our governments in this country,” adding that “voters should be able to make their second choice . and third choices on the ballot itself, instead of the current system, which is set up to benefit those who want to polarize the situation and pit Canadians against each other.”
According to the Canadian lawmaker, in such a case, the ruling party will have 90 days from the date of its leader’s resignation to find a replacement.
THE LIKELY PARTICIPANTS TO REPLACE TRUDEAU
Dominic LeBlanc, Melanie Joly, Francois-Philippe Champagne and Mark Carney have been floated as potential contenders.
Dominic LeBlanc is Canada’s Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. He has also been finance minister since December 2024, when his colleague Chrystia Freeland resigned following disagreements with Justin Trudeau.
Melanie Joly is Minister of Foreign Affairs. She has held this position since October 2021. Ms. Joly represents the Montreal region in the House of Commons and has been a parliamentarian since 2015.
François-Philippe Champagne is Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. He also served as Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He is a businessman, lawyer and international trade specialist.
Mark Carney is the former Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013. He also served as Governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.
A JAB AT THE OPPOSITION
In his resignation speech, Trudeau missed no opportunity to attack the leader of Canada’s opposition Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre. “Stopping the fight against climate change makes no sense and retreating from values and strengths in diversity is not the right path,” he said, adding that “Pierre Poilievre’s vision for Canada is not the right one. ”
“We need an ambitious, optimistic view of the future and Pierre Poilievre does not provide that,” Trudeau claimed.
THE REVOLT WITHIN THE LIBERALS
Justin Trudeau is under immense pressure from his party colleagues as the latest polls show an overwhelming increase in support for the opposition Conservative Party. Canada goes to the polls later this year and must have a new government in place by October 20.
Trudeau will temporarily remain prime minister until a successor is chosen. This may take a few days, but can even take up to several months. Both Canada’s domestic politics and the country’s geopolitical position have suffered a serious and damaging blow under Mr. Trudeau’s leadership.
A few months ago, Justin Trudeau lost the support of his key ally, leading to a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister in Parliament. Somehow, Trudeau’s minority government managed to gain the fragile support of other minor parties to form a coalition. This started a process of introspection within the Liberal Party, with several MPs dissatisfied with the way Justin Trudeau was running the party and the country.
Dissatisfied with his leadership in recent months, several senior Liberal Party MPs, including Sean Casey, Ken McDonald and Chandra Arya, had publicly called for Justin Trudeau’s resignation. More than 20 Liberal Party MPs reportedly even signed a petition demanding his resignation.
The final blow, however, was the resignation of Chrystia Freeland, Justin Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, in December. Ms. Freeland’s departure stemmed from disagreements over policy, including Mr. Trudeau’s handling of potential U.S. tariffs and his economic strategy. She denounced Mr. Trudeau and his “costly political gimmicks” in her resignation letter.
The Canadian dollar, which has been on a downward spiral since September and is at a new low, has risen in value since Trudeau decided to step down as leader of the Liberal Party and in turn Prime Minister.
The Canadian economy, already dealing with problems such as slowing growth, high inflation, stagnant GDP and crumbling trade policies, is now also facing an existential crisis, with Donald Trump threatening massive tariffs.
Donald Trump has more than once called Canada the 51st state of the United States. He had even called Justin Trudeau the “governor of the 51st US state” during a personal meeting with him. Mr. Trump has said Canada survives by exploiting trade policy with the U.S., and he plans to put that right. He even said that if Canada can’t handle it, it should become a new US state. Days after the shock, Justin Trudeau responded, but was criticized by the opposition and criticized by his own party for being too lenient.
Even Elon Musk, part of Donald Trump’s new administration, called Justin Trudeau “an insufferable tool.”
SOURING TIES WITH INDIA
Tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa have been simmering since Trudeau’s September 2023 accusation of Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar was shot outside a Gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Canada. India dismissed the accusation as ‘absurd’. Trudeau’s claims that India is sponsoring criminal activities have drawn sharp criticism both domestically and internationally.
In the subsequent fallout, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and recalled its envoy to Ottawa after Canada attempted to question Indian officials as “persons of interest” in the Nijjar case. Pro-Khalistan activities in Canada, including an attack on a Hindu temple near Toronto, have further inflamed relations between the two nations.
India has consistently rejected any link to the killing of Nijjar, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) designated terrorist, and accused the Trudeau government of pandering to Khalistani sympathizers for political gain.
Despite multiple exchanges, including meetings at international forums such as the G20 summit, Canada has been unable to provide any conclusive evidence linking India to the killing.
Critics claim these accusations are an attempt to appeal to a section of the Sikh community who are “Khalistan” sympathizers and a “vote bank” in Canada, a move some see as politically motivated. Justin Trudeau was seen several times attending congregations of the separatist movement and supporting them. However, this strategy appears to have backfired, as many Canadians see it as a distraction from pressing national issues.