Trudeau prorogues Parliament, will step down as prime minister after leadership race

OTTAWA, O.N. — As a tearful Justin Trudeau outlined his plans to resign as Liberal leader Monday, he put the country on track for an early election featuring a new party flagbearer for the first time in a decade.

Once seen as the Liberal saviour who lifted a battered party brand up from the ashes, Trudeau came up against a groundswell of pressure from party rank-and-file to step aside as the public soured on his government and grew hungry for change.

The questions now are when exactly the election will come, and who will vie to become Trudeau’s successor and the next to attempt the herculean feat of raising the party back up from the depths.

After more than a year of plummeting poll numbers and surging pressure from within his own caucus to step aside, Trudeau informed Canadians Monday he will resign as leader and prime minister as soon as a new leader is chosen.

“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 said outside his official residence in Ottawa Monday morning.

Trudeau said he reflected on his political future over the holidays and told his three kids about his decision over dinner Sunday.

He also said he met with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Monday morning and that she has agreed to his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24.

Trudeau had consistently signalled over the past year he intended to remain at the helm, but the decisive blow came when Chrystia Freeland suddenly resigned as minister of finance and deputy prime minister on Dec. 16, days after Trudeau had informed her he was going to move her out of the finance portfolio. Her departure, hours before she was to table the fall economic statement in the House of Commons, sent shock waves through the governing party.

Questions about Trudeau’s future have swirled since support for his party began to tumble in 2023. The Liberals have trailed the Conservatives by more than 20 points for more than a year.

Trudeau said he asked for Parliament to be prorogued because the House of Commons has been paralyzed for months through obstruction and needs a reset. This move will shutter the House for two months, wipe clear the current slate of legislation and delay any opportunities for non-confidence votes that could trigger an election until it resumes in spring.

“It’s time for the temperature to come down, for people to have a fresh start in Parliament to be able to navigate through these complex times domestically and internationally,” he said. “Removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal party should also decrease the level of polarization we’re seeing right now in the House and in Canadian politics.”

Trudeau said he asked Liberal party president Sachit Mehra Sunday night to immediately launch a leadership race ahead of the next election.

Mehra could not be reached for an interview, but said in a statement he will call a national board meeting this week to begin the “nation-wide democratic process of selecting a new leader of the party.” A concluding date for that race has not yet been set.

The spotlight now will be cast on long-suspected leadership aspirants such as Freeland, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, former central banker Mark Carney, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and a cast of others. 

Candidates will have to scramble to launch speedy campaigns as they jostle under tight time constraints to organize and claim the mantle as the best to take on popular firebrand Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

Liberal MP Wayne Long, who had agitated for Trudeau to leave, said the prime minister could have figured out that he had passed his political expiration date a lot sooner. But his decision to finally step aside marks day-one of the party’s rebuild and will give the party a fighting chance in the next election.

“This shouldn’t be a Pierre Poilievre coronation,” he said.

While the next election must be held by this October, spring or early summer are much more likely given the precarious minority Parliament that has all three main opposition parties pronouncing they’re ready to bring the government down in a confidence vote.

Poilievre sought to cast Trudeau’s move as a desperate political play by a sputtering Liberal party, whose MPs stood by their leader right up until he cratered in the polls and was no longer a viable candidate.

“Their only objection is that he is no longer popular enough to win an election and keep them in power,” Poilievre said in a statement. “They want to protect their pensions and paycheques by sweeping their hated leader under the rug months before an election to trick you, and then do it all over again.”

After supporting the Liberals through confidence votes last fall, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh first said Trudeau needed to resign on Dec. 20, after Freeland’s cabinet departure. Now, the NDP leader says his party will topple the government at the first chance, likely through a vote on the throne speech when Parliament returns.

“New Democrats will be voting against this government for an election where Canadians will have a choice,” Singh said. “It doesn’t matter who the leader is, the Liberals have let you down. They do not deserve another chance.”

Trudeau’s decision comes two weeks before Donald Trump is sworn back into office as president of the United States and Trudeau will remain at the helm during what is expected to be a rocky start to Trump’s second term in the Oval Office. Trump has threatened to impose steep import tariffs on all Canadian goods the day he is inaugurated.

Following his announcement Monday, Trudeau was still expected to attend a cabinet committee on Canada-U. S. relations Monday, chaired by LeBlanc.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement following Trudeau’s announcement that the federal government “must urgently explain to Canadians how they will avoid tariffs that could have devastating effects on our economy.”

Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO Candace Laing said Trudeau read the room correctly and that this was the right call.

“His resignation marks a turning point as Canada tackles unprecedented domestic and international challenges,” she said. “Canada’s next prime minister must hit the ground running and be laser-focused on strengthening the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2024.