On Monday morning, it was made public that the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, is resigning. However, this is not effective immediately. Trudeau will maintain his role as prime minister and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada until a national election decides the party’s new leader. Until March 24th, the Canadian parliament will be suspended.
Trudeau has been the leader of the Liberal Party since 2013. He would later assume the title of Prime Minister in 2015, being re-elected in 2019 and then again in 2021. When Trudeau entered office, he and his team had goals of fighting climate change, reconciling with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, keeping communities safe, and making life more affordable, according to the Prime Minister’s website.
Many factors led to Prime Minister Trudeau’s resignation. One of the largest factors is his image. Although there were some scandals that damaged Trudeau’s image in 2019, his ratings have been lower than ever as of late, reaching the low twenties (here is an active approval rating of Trudeau: Trudeau Tracker). Over the past few years, Canadian inflation has skyrocketed along with housing prices, rejecting Trudeau’s initial goal of making life affordable. In addition to this, there has been a surge in immigration, though he said that the permanent migration rate would be reduced “by 21 per cent in 2025” reports The Independent. In the same Independent article, it is said that “More than 70 percent of polled Canadians think the country is “broken” under his leadership.”
People can only imagine the scrambling to find a new political leader who would replace Trudeau. In October, there will be a national election to determine the new Prime Minister of Canada. Soon after it was released that Trudeau would be resigning, articles about Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada (from 2007-2013) and the Bank of England (from 2013-2020), started circulating about him becoming a major possible candidate for the leader of the Liberal Party. Another major contender (see bottom of the article) is Trudeau’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland. She was very close to Trudeau’s inner political circle, but her abrupt resignation shocked the country. Though the direct reason for Freeland’s resignation is unclear, many believe that it was prompted by a “threat”, coined from multiple sources, from President-Elect Trump and his incoming administration. The threat said that the United States would impose a 25% tariff.
This could negate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) signed by Former President Trump, Former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and Prime Minister Trudeau in January 2020. The USMCA promised to mutually support “beneficial trade leading to freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in North America,” according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Canadian politicians are nervous as to how far Former and Future President Trump will go with his comments on Canada; is he joking or is he serious?
Whoever the new Liberal Party leader is, hopefully they find a leader before Parliament resumes and they can comfortably take on the Conservative Party leader, Pierre Poilievre, in October. People throughout the world who are following Canadian politics are wondering if Trudeau is making the right decision; is he making the right decision? Or is the Prime Minister putting the country in danger?
This BBC article explains all potential candidates to assume Trudeau’s position.
