Canada political crisis: Premier Trudeau announces resignation
Toronto: Under pressure from MPs from his ruling Liberal Party, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, bringing to an end a tenure that began in October 2015.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters, announcing he intends to step down as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday. (REUTERS)
“I intend to resign as leader of the Liberal Party, and as Prime Minister after the party elects its next leader following a robust process,” he announced.
Immediate elections, as demanded by the opposition, are not likely as Trudeau has sought that Parliament be prorogued till March 24, obviating the possibility of facing a no confidence vote in the session that was scheduled to commence on January 27.
Trudeau met governor general Mary Simon to secure the prorogation prior to appearing for a press conference outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa.
He said he had asked the president of the Liberal Party on Sunday evening to start the process for the election of the next leader.
“If I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” he said.
“I’m a fighter,” he said, adding it had become “obvious” to him he cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next Federal elections.
He said he had informed his kids of the decision on Sunday night over dinner after having had the opportunity to reflect on the matter over the holidays.
Trudeau, who turned 53 on December 25, became the leader of the Liberal Party in April 2013. By the summer of 2015, his campaign to become Prime Minister gathered momentum and he swept into power on October 19 that year, as his party captured a comfortable majority of 184 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons.
He remained a global liberal icon till February 2018 when a disastrous visit to India was skewered for his costume changes and the presence of a convicted Khalistani extremist at a formal reception organised by the Canadian High Commission in Mumbai.
Prior to the 2019 Federal election, photos emerged of Trudeau in brownface, but he survived the outrage to secure another term, though his party was reduced to a minority, down to 157 seats.
Lavish handouts during the Covid-19 pandemic couldn’t help his government seize another majority and it fell short yet again in the 2021 Federal polls, with 160 seats.
By February 2022, his regime took an authoritarian turn, imposing, for the first time in Canadian history, a national emergency to scotch protests in Ottawa by the so-called Freedom Convoy. He never quite recovered.
By the end of the year, he was trailing the opposition Conservatives across polls. The flashpoint was the loss of the safe riding of Toronto-St Paul’s in June 2024. Among the issues cratering his popularity was unsustainable levels of immigration leading to housing unaffordability and pressure on health and transport infrastructure as well as burgeoning crime.
By the end 2024, he was also facing an internal revolt, which blossomed with the shock resignation of then Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on December 16. That spiraled into calls by nearly 100 of his MPs, including the caucuses from Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic region, seeking his early departure.
Recent surveys showed that, led by Trudeau, the Liberals could have headed for the worst federal election result in their history.
The catalyst for the change was Freeland’s resignation. She will be among the principal contenders for leadership. Others include Cabinet Ministers Melanie Joly, Dominic LeBlanc, François-Philippe Champagne, Anita Anand, an Indo-Canadian. There may be contenders outside the Trudeau Government, including former British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney.
This article was originally published by a www.hindustantimes.com . Read the Original article here. .