WATCH: Trudeau resigns as Canadian PM, calls for elections

After nearly a decade in power as prime minister and the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, Justin Trudeau said Monday he would resign from both roles.

“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process,” Trudeau said. “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.”

The announcement comes three weeks after one of Trudeau’s closest allies – finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland – resigned from the prime minister’s Cabinet over their differences on how to deal with the incoming Trump administration. Trudeau has also faced falling support from lawmakers, including some within his own party, and public opinion polls.

His resignation as party leader would also end Trudeau’s time as prime minister. Canada’s 2015 federal election vaulted Trudeau’s Liberal Party to a majority of the seats in Parliament, and he became the second-youngest prime minister in the nation’s history.

But Trudeau has faced diminishing support in recent years. After the results of the 2019 election and the 2021 snap election, the Liberals ruled as a minority government. While the party held the most seats in Parliament, it did not hold a majority and needed support from lawmakers in other parties to stay in power and pass legislation.

Trudeau said that the work of Parliament would be delayed until March 24, giving the Liberals time to select a new leader. Under Canadian law, a federal election must happen by October of this year.

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