Canada PM Justin Trudeau could resign as early as Monday, sources say
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Under fire leader of Liberal party expected to signal intention to step aside after nearly a decade in office. Justin Trudeau could announce his resignation as early as Monday, two leading Canadian newspapers have reported, after a snowballing leadership crisis that has caused the prime minister to lose support within his party.
The Globe and Mail newspaper cited three sources as saying that Trudeau, 53, would quit as head of the ruling Liberal party after nearly a decade in office. It said one of the sources had recently spoken to the prime minister and believed he intended to step down before an emergency meeting of party members on Wednesday, “so it doesn’t look like he was forced out by his own MPs”.
The Toronto Star said it had also confirmed that Trudeau was “expected to signal his intentions to step aside as early as Monday”, citing what it said was a senior source. Trudeau’s popularity has plummeted amid record inflation, an acute housing crisis, high food prices and voter fatigue with incumbent politicians. Recent polling put the Liberals at 16% support, their worst pre-election standing in more than a century, with the opposition Conservatives coming out on top.
At the end of October, almost two dozen backbench Liberal MPs signed a letter calling on Trudeau to step down, with the party fearing a seismic electoral defeat in the federal election scheduled for next year. His political horizons darkened in mid-December with the shock resignation of his deputy, Chrystia Freeland, who left with stern words for the prime minister, questioning his ability to guide Canada through Donald Trump’s “America first” economic nationalism, including a threat of 25% tariffs on Canada.
