A subdued Trudeau, among the most prominent progressive leaders in the world, told a press conference that he would stay on both as prime minister and Liberal leader until the party chooses a new chief within months.
He also announced parliament would be prorogued, or suspended, until March 24.
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In recent weeks unhappy Liberal lawmakers openly called on Trudeau to quit after his finance minister resigned and accused him of “political gimmicks” to win back voters.
“But I have always been driven by my love for Canada ... and it has become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election.”
Trudeau, 53, took office in November 2015 with a message of hope and “sunny ways” and won reelection twice, becoming one of Canada’s longest-serving prime ministers and winning plaudits from progressives for his focus on gender parity policies.
An Ipsos Canada poll released on Dec. 22 showed the Conservatives had 45% support among decided voters, with the Liberals and the left-leaning New Democrats on 20% each. Such a result on election day would mean a huge Conservative victory.
Trudeau said he had asked the Liberal Party to set in motion a leadership contest but did not say how long it would take. A new party leader would become prime minister immediately, and lead the Liberals into the next election.
Shachi Kurl, president of pollster Angus Reid, said that while a new leader might be able to stem losses, the Liberal party was still in trouble.
Although proroguing parliament would allow the Liberals to choose a leader without worrying about an election derailing the process, the move could still hurt them with voters, said Philippe Lagasse, an associate professor and constitutional expert at Ottawa's Carleton University.
Liberal infighting has alarmed business groups and the premiers of the country's 10 provinces, who say Ottawa has to focus on possible tariffs from the Trump administration.
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But calls for him to step aside soared since last month, when he tried to demote Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, one of his closest cabinet allies, after she pushed back against his proposals for more spending.
Freeland and former central banker Mark Carney, two potential candidates in the race to replace Trudeau, both issued short statements thanking him for his service.
“While leaderless Liberals focus on saving their jobs and fighting each other for power, the country spirals out of control,“ Poilievre said in a statement, reiterating calls for an immediate election.
“The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned,“ he said on Truth Social.
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