Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he will resign in the coming months, bowing to angry voters amid an uncertain economic outlook and political infighting.
The announcement, which came amid a tumultuous Parliament, left Canada in political limbo as the incoming Trump administration vowed to impose punitive tariffs on Canadian imports.
“It's time to reset,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters outside his residence on a frosty morning in the capital, Ottawa. Mr. Trudeau said he would suspend parliament until March 24 and remain Liberal Party leader and prime minister until his replacement is elected in national party elections.
“I really feel that removing the controversy surrounding my continued leadership is an opportunity to turn the temperature down,” he said.
Mr Trudeau, 53, who came to power nearly a decade ago and quickly emerged as a progressive icon, is the latest leader to be sidelined by anti-establishment sentiment, anti-immigration backlash and anger in the West. The lasting effects of a spike in inflation during the coronavirus pandemic. While inflation in Canada has fallen below 2 percent, unemployment remains high at over 6 percent.
A general election would be held by October, according to the timetable Mr. Trudeau cited on Monday.
“It became clear to me in the infighting that I would not be able to carry the Liberal standard into the next election,” he said.
Mr. Trudeau has faced mounting pressure from within his party for weeks.
In December, Mr. Trudeau's deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, suddenly fell downsharply criticizing the country's leadership and management. Ms. Freeland, who has been a close ally of the prime minister, accused Mr. Trudeau of making “costly political tricks” and being ill-prepared to face the challenge President-elect Donald J. Trump has set before him.
His resignation prompted a growing call from Liberal MPs to step aside for the sake of the party and allow someone else to lead the party in the general election.
Mr. Trudeau has also been under pressure from a resurgent Conservative Party, which has a double-digit lead over the Liberal Party in recent polls. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, a video On social media Monday, he promoted an alternative vision of governance: a “tax ax” citing Trudeau's unpopularity carbon tax“build the houses”, “fix the budget” and “stop the crime”.
The panic comes as Canada debates how to deal with Mr. Trump's promise to impose tariffs that would increase a trade deal between Canada, the United States and Mexico. (Mr Trump has also threatened Mexico with tariffs and says he wants both countries to deal with the flow of drugs and undocumented migrants into the US).
Tariffs could be potentially devastating to Canada's economy, which is heavily dependent on exports, particularly oil and automobiles. The US and Canada are each other's largest trading partners.
Mr. Trudeau visited Mr. Trump at his private club and residence in Florida in late November, and his government held talks to address the president-elect's concerns about border security. tariff threat.
The negotiations seem to have yielded no results. In early December, Mr. Trump mocked Mr. Trudeau in a social media post, describing the Canadian prime minister as “Justin Trudeau, Governor of the Great State of Canada.”
On Monday, Mr. Trump responded to Mr. Trudeau's resignation by suggesting Canada should become America's “51st state” and said on social media that if Canada were to join the United States, there would be lower taxes and no tariffs.
Possible replacements for Mr. Trudeau include Ms. Freeland, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister; Dominic LeBlanc, was finance minister when Mrs. Freeland resigned; Melanie Jolie, Senior diplomat of Canada from 2021; and Mark Carney, Former Governor of the Bank of Canada, who also headed the Bank of England.
Mr. Trudeau, whose government is beset by a lack of a majority in Parliament, said on Monday that the legislature was “completely taken over by obstruction, fraud and a complete lack of productivity.”
In his French-language comments, he painted an even brighter picture of a “defunct” Parliament.
The suspension of parliament, a process known as prorogation, will give his party time to choose a new leader, which Mr. Trudeau said would be through a “robust, nationwide, competitive process.” A new and perhaps more popular leader could put the Liberals in a stronger position in the upcoming national elections.
The suspension of Parliament removes all pending laws, but does not affect the day-to-day operations of the government.
Mr. Trudeau spent a decade building a political brand around being a feminist, environmentalist and advocate for refugees and indigenous peoples, following the same message of change and hope as Barack Obama. But analysts say Mr. Trudeau's seemingly anti-Trump brand is no longer working for him.
“He caught a wave going in, and when he catches a wave, he can lift you up,” said Darrell Bricker, a veteran pollster and chief executive of Ipsos Public Affairs. “But on the other hand, if you don't get off, it will knock you down.”
An Ipsos poll published at the end of December showed the liberals trailing the conservatives by 25 percentage points.
Although the next election must be held by October, voting can be scheduled earlier or forced.
A liberal government under a new prime minister could be short-lived. And the Liberal government is likely to face a confidence vote shortly after the start of the new session. As it holds only a minority of seats in parliament and has lost the support of all other parties, it is likely to lose such a vote. This will lead to a federal election.
The Prime Minister also has the power to dissolve Parliament at any time, which would trigger an election.