Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday after nearly a decade in power. The decision comes amid rising discontent over his leadership. The leader told the nation that “internal battles” mean he “cannot be the best option” in the next election.
What’s next for Canada? Parliament had been due to resume January 27. Now Trudeau says it will be suspended until March 24. That will give his Liberal Party time to elect a new prime minister.
More changes are coming. All three main opposition parties say they plan to topple the Liberal Party in a no-confidence vote when Parliament resumes. That would trigger a spring federal election, which could put a different party in power.
Trudeau became prime minister in 2015. Some initially hailed him for returning the country to its liberal past. Among other efforts, he established a financial benefit for low-income families and a trade agreement with the United States and Mexico. But he became deeply unpopular with voters in recent years over issues such as the soaring cost of food and housing and surging immigration.
The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada internationally. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods if the government to the north does not stem what he calls a flow of migrants and drugs to the United States.
Canada is a major exporter of oil and natural gas to the United States. America also imports steel, aluminum, and automobiles from its northern neighbor.
Canada’s former finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, announced her resignation from Trudeau’s Cabinet on December 16. She and Trudeau did not agree on some of his economic priorities. The move stunned the country. It raised questions about how much longer the increasingly unpopular Trudeau could stay in his job.
Freeland and Trudeau disagreed about two recently announced policies. One is a temporary sales tax holiday on goods ranging from children’s clothes to coffee. The other is the plan to send every citizen a check for $250 Canadian ($174). Freeland, who was also deputy prime minister, said Canada could not afford “costly political gimmicks.”
Freeland wrote in her resignation letter that Canada may face an upcoming tariff war with the United States. She wanted to manage the country’s spending “so we have the reserves we may need.” She also wrote that Trudeau had asked her to step down as finance minister.
Before his resignation, Trudeau had planned to run for a fourth term. Prime ministers in Canada do not have term limits. But no Canadian prime minister in more than a century has won four straight terms.
