What happened
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he is stepping down after nearly a decade in office, as soon as his Liberal Party picks a new leader. That leader will take over as prime minister heading into elections that the opposition Conservative Party is heavily favored to win, and as Donald Trump takes office in the U.S., threatening punishing tariffs.
Who said what
“It’s time for a reset,” Trudeau, 53, told reporters outside his Ottawa residence. Canada “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 is the “latest leader in the West to be swept aside by a mood of anti-incumbency” and anger over immigration and post-pandemic inflation, The New York Times said. But the pointed resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in December “ignited a growing chorus” among Liberal lawmakers for Trudeau to “step aside for the sake of the party,” sealing his downfall.
It’s also “rare” for a Canadian leader to “rack up four election wins in a row,” The Washington Post said, and Trudeau has won three. “This is a government in its 10th year — at some point the milk just expires,” Shachi Kurl, president of pollster Angus Reid, said to Reuters. “I think the milk has turned pretty sour.”
What next?
Trudeau said Canada’s Parliament, scheduled to return to session Jan. 27, will now be suspended until March 24, allowing the Liberals to pick their new leader. “All three main opposition parties have said they plan to topple the Liberal Party in a no-confidence vote when Parliament resumes,” The Associated Press said, teeing up new elections as soon as May.