by Mick the Ram

Justin Trudeau addressed the Canadian population around lunchtime on Monday 6 January and announced he is resigning his position as Liberal party leader and then as the country’s prime minister, as soon as a successor is found.

Mr Trudeau has been PM for nine years, but had been under pressure from members of his own party to resign since the summer, after the Liberals suffered a historic defeat in a Toronto by-election to their Conservative rivals and had also been lagging in the polls.

Standing down, he said, will allow an opportunity to “bring the temperature down”, adding that although he has always been a fighter, “internal battles” meant he simply could not be the leader of the Liberals in the next election.

The outgoing PM did however stress that the vision of Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party, was “not the right one for Canadians”.

The Canadian parliament will now be prorogued until March, which effectively means that all proceedings, debates and votes are suspended with immediate effect.

Falling behind

Mr Trudeau’s popularity has undoubtedly plummeted among voters, with polls suggesting his party is on course for a general election defeat later this year.

Only last month a survey showed that only 22% of Canadians were in favour of his continued leadership, comfortably the lowest since coming to power in 2015.

Inspiration

Speaking from his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Mr Trudeau began his speech by saying that each day of his term in office he has been inspired by the resilience and generosity of Canadians and in return he has fought for them and the country.

He recalled everyone had rallied to support each other during the pandemic, and spoke of working to protect free trade on the continent.

Family consulted

The PM said he made his decision to resign after having long conversation with his family, giving them credit for any success he has achieved.

He went on to say: “I am a fighter and every bone in my body is telling me to fight”, but he quickly added: “This country deserves a real choice” after he stated that it had become clear he no longer was “the best option on the ballot” for Canadians.

Mr Trudeau remarked how parliament has been “paralysed for months” – after what he called “the longest session of a minority parliament in Canadian history”.

Criticism of rival party

After confirming that the house will be prorogued until 24 March, he went onto slam the ideas of Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

“Stopping the fight against climate change doesn’t make sense”, he said, before questioning his rival’s lack of ambition and optimism.

Reset and fresh start

Finishing his address, Mr Trudeau insisted that now was the time for what he called “a reset” and a “fresh start in parliament” in order for the country to navigate “complex” times domestically and internationally.

Thanks given

The president of the Liberal Party, Sachit Mehra, said a meeting of the party’s board of directors would be held later this week to begin the process of selecting a new party leader.

He thanked the outgoing PM saying: “Liberals across the country are immensely grateful to Justin Trudeau for more than a decade of leadership to our Party and the country.

“As Prime Minister, his vision delivered transformational progress for Canadians, including with the Canada Child Benefit and $10-a-day child care, Canada’s first-ever national climate plan, support that saved businesses and helped Canadians through a once in a generation global pandemic, and the establishment of dental care and universal pharma-care.”

Conservatives slam actions

Not so generous with his “praise” in his own statement was the reaction of Mr Poilievre. He criticised the PM’s actions whilst in charge over the nine year period, slamming his “out of control spending, debt and immigration policy”.

He continued: “They now want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another 4 years. The only way to fix what Liberals broke is a carbon tax electionto elect common sense Conservatives who will bring home Canada’s promise.”

Canada has a carbon pricing system intended to help combat climate change, which is sometimes called a “carbon tax”. The Conservatives say it has driven up the prices of everyday goods, and are calling for a vote on it.

Who will take over?

Speculation will now intensify as to who might replace Mr Trudeau.

Former Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland will inevitably be touted, as will former central banker Mark Carney, who has previously held the position of head of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He has been serving in recent months as a special adviser to Mr Trudeau, and is said to have been vying for the party’s leadership job for some time.

Oxford-educated Mélanie Joly, currently the minister of foreign affairs will have plenty of support; as will Dominic Leblanc, minister of finance and intergovernmental affairs. He is a long-time friend and close ally of the PM, but has always demonstrated ambitions to lead the Liberal Party.