Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on January 6 that he plans to resign as leader of the Liberal party, as soon as a new leader can be chosen. The leadership race is now underway, with the new leader set to be announced on March 9.
Many sources suggest that the prime minister had been planning to resign for quite some time, but that the final straw was the resignation of his finance minister, Chrystia Freeland. Prime Minister Trudeau himself stated in his resignation speech that he was stepping down to give the Liberal party a fighting chance in this year’s election, knowing that it wouldn’t be possible for him to be the best leader while “fighting internal battles”.
These battles have entailed criticism even from members of his own party, with many calling for his resignation in recent months. The once popular leader, who has been prime minister for almost 10 years, has seen his popularity steadily decline in recent years. Scandals such as the SNC Lavalin affair – which led to the resignation of Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who heavily criticized Trudeau – helped to worsen his reputation. Many Canadians blame Trudeau’s policies for the exorbitant cost of living issue that has hit nationwide.
The individual who is named as Liberal leader on March 9 will become Canada’s next prime minister, although it will be up to voters to decide in the months that follow whether that person gets to remain the prime minister. A similar situation involving the resignation of Brian Mulrooney in 1993 led to the appointment of Kim Campbell as the new Progressive Conservative party leader and the first and only female prime minister from June to November of that year.
Parliament is currently prorogued, meaning that all bills before the House of Commons have been left in limbo. This has spurred criticism from some who say that important bills, such as the First Nations Clean Water Act, have essentially been abandoned and will be for months. Parliament is set to return on March 24, but it’s unclear how long business will resume as usual before an election will be called. Currently, the Liberal government does not have any stated support from any of the 3 major opposing parties for the mandatory upcoming approval of the government’s budget appropriations, which happens 3 times per year. A failure to obtain this approval by majority vote would be a confirmation of non-confidence, leading to an election.
The announcement of the prime minister’s resignation means that, regardless of any election results this year, 2025 will see new federal leadership.