In the midst of the worst political crisis since taking office in 2015, Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Prime Minister of Canada on Monday. “I am resigning as party leader and Prime Minister,” Trudeau said to reporters in Ottawa, after weeks of turmoil.
“Every bone in my body has always told me to fight because I deeply care about Canadians,” Trudeau explained. He will step down as leader of the Liberal Party in power once the party chooses a new leader, a process that could take several months.
The Liberals under Trudeau are losing ground to the opposition conservatives in polls and barely survived a no-confidence vote in parliament last year. The political fortunes of Trudeau hit new lows after the surprising resignation of his former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, triggering a political crisis in the country.
In her resignation letter, Freeland accused Trudeau of focusing on political gimmicks to appease voters, including a costly Christmas fiscal holiday, instead of stabilizing Canada’s finances before a possible trade war with the United States. The new US President, Donald Trump, promised to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports, a move that could be devastating for Canada’s economy.