Under growing pressure from his own party, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will step down and end his nine-year stretch as leader. Trudeau said he would stay on in office until his Liberal Party can choose a new leader, and that parliament would be prorogued - or suspended - until 24 March. This country 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, he said during a press conference Monday. Trudeau's personal unpopularity with Canadians had become an increasing drag on his party's fortunes in advance of federal elections later this year. Last night, over dinner, I told my kids about the decision that I'm sharing with you today, he told the news conference in Ottawa. I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process, he said. The president of the Liberal Party, Sachit Mehra, said a meeting of the party's board of directors would be held this week to begin the process of selecting a new leader. In a statement, he added: 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, he said, citing programmes his government has implemented like the Canada Child Benefit and the establishment of dental care and pharmacare coverage for some medication. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said nothing has changed following Trudeau's resignation. Every Liberal MP and Leadership contender supported EVERYTHING Trudeau did for 9 years, and now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another 4 years, just like Justin, Poilievre wrote on X. Trudeau, 53, had faced growing calls to quit from inside his Liberal Party, which ramped up in December when deputy prime minister and long-time ally Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned. In a public resignation letter, Freeland cited US President-elect Donald Trump's threats of tariffs on Canadian goods, and accused Trudeau of not doing enough to address the grave challenge posed by Trump's proposals. Trump has promised to impose a tax of 25% on imported Canadian goods - which economists have warned would significantly hurt Canada's economy - unless the country takes steps to increase security on its shared border.
