Canada’s Political Turmoil
Political unrest in Canada
Canada’s Political Turmoil
Justin Trudeau, who has led the country for nearly a decade, is giving up leadership of the Liberal party. He said he would remain in both roles until his replacement had been chosen through a party election.
Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Ian Austen
Matina Stevis-Gridneff reported from Toronto and Ian Austen from Ottawa.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he will step down as Liberal leader and prime minister, a move that will install new leadership in Canada until the end of March after it elects a new leader.
“Every bone in my body has told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians,” Trudeau said as he announced his resolution in Ottawa, the capital. His resignation triggers a war for his succession after spending about a decade at the head of the party and the country.
The upheaval comes as the country is grappling with how best to deal with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pledge to impose crippling tariffs on all imports from Canada on his first day in office. Canada and the United States are each other’s biggest trading partners.
Trudeau visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his own club and apartment in Florida, in late November, and his government in talks to address the president-elect’s concerns about border security in hopes he will reconsider his commitment. tariff threat.
Trudeau has been facing increasing pressure from his party’s ranks for weeks. In December, Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, resigned in a scathing complaint against her leadership and control of the country.
His resignation has provoked a growing number of voices among Liberal MPs calling on him to step aside for the good of the party and to let the Liberal Party lead the opposition to the Conservatives in the next general election, which must take a position in “here”. October.
Here’s what you most want to know:
A dark view: Trudeau criticized Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre for having a dark view of Canada. Instead, Trudeau said the country needed a positive outlook and needed another leader to take on Poilievre in the upcoming federal election.
Parliament on hold: Mr. Trudeau shut down Parliament until March 24 to allow his party to pick a new leader. The action wipes out all pending legislation but does not affect the government’s day-to-day operations.
End of an era: Trudeau has been in power since 2015, after resurrecting the Liberals who had a failed election before taking power in 2013. But he is deeply unpopular: according to a ballot published last month via Ipsos, Consistent with 73 percent of Canadians (totaling 43, consistent with 100% of the Liberal electorate) believe he deserves to resign as party leader.
Falling confidence: Ms. Freeland, who had been Mr. Trudeau’s most steadfast lieutenant through multiple crises, including the pandemic and disagreements with the first Trump administration, said last month that she no longer had confidence in his leadership.
Ian Austen, Vjosa Isai and Matina Stevis-Gridneff