Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigns, what’s next for his country

In a major development in North American politics, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, January 6, announced to quit as the leader of the Liberal Party and also step down from the top post. The 53-year-old leader, who took up the reins in November 2015, said he would continue to serve till his party chooses a new leader and that the country’s parliament would remain suspended till March 24. 

Addressing a press conference outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, the outgoing prime minister cited “internal battles” in his party as the reason behind the crucial decision. Unlike the 1984 ‘walk in the snow’ resignation of his father, former PM Pierre Trudeau, Justin’s end was as rough as reality. 

Trudeau said he intended to resign as the leader of the party and the prime minister after his party selected its next leader through a robust, nationwide, and competitive process. 

“Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal party to begin that process. 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. Canada will go to the polls sometime this year. 

Trudeau, who has been countering problems both on domestic and foreign fronts over the past many months, said he cares deeply about Canada and will always be motivated by the best interest of his countrymen. The PM said that “despite best efforts to work through it, Parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority Parliament in Canadian history”. 

“That's why this morning, I advised the Governor General that we need a new session of Parliament,” Trudeau added. 

Why the Trudeau era came to an end?

It is not that end of the road for the beleaguered prime minister surprised many. It had been asked time and again when Trudeau would step down. The leader made desperate efforts to cling on to the chair, but voters’ growing frustration (one survey said at 2024 end, only 22 per cent of Canadians backed the PM) and the rival Conservatives’ growing popularity saw Trudeau’s own party disapproving of his leadership. 

The turbulent story of Trudeau was not something someone had envisioned when he took office. Dubbed as the poster boy of global liberalism, the leader’s youthful charisma saw the voters facilitating the Liberals from a distant position to bag the majority. 

But Trudeau’s popularity in Canada slumped over the years and the two general elections of 2019 and 2021 showed that. In 2019, the Liberals lost their majority and had to rely on other parties to remain in office. The snap election of 2021 did not help either. The Liberals also lost some of their safe seats in by-elections held in 2024. 

While the outgoing prime minister did produce solid leadership in matters such as Indigenous reconciliation or climate policies, experts believe he failed to keep pace with changing times. Trudeau was proud of his government’s work in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, renegotiating a trade agreement with the previous Donald Trump administration in the neighbouring US, and bringing in a child-benefit programme which helped alleviate poverty. Still, episodes such as the SNC-Lavalin affair and Aga Khan affair hurt the PM’s image. 

Inflation and immigration

The Trudeau administration was also hit by the rising cost of living. Canada’s inflation touched a four-decade high in 2022, adding to people’s hardships and endangering the prime minister’s policies aimed at addressing the inequality of wealth. But it was the uncontrolled immigration that perhaps dealt him a decisive blow. 

Last October, Trudeau desperately tried to tighten the number of immigrants entering the country but it did not help his government. The PM conceded his government’s inability to find the right balance. 

A survey by Canada’s Environics Institute found that for the first time in 25 years, most respondents felt that immigration was too high. The US was also unhappy with the growing number of undocumented immigrants living in Canada entering its territory. 

Another major blow for Trudeau happened in December 2024 when his deputy and the Canadian finance minister, Chrystia Freeland resigned over disagreements with the premier over dealing with threats of incoming US President Trump. 

What leaders said

US President-elect Donald Trump reacted to Trudeau’s resignation in a post on Truth Social Platform saying, “Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned. 

“If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!”

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who is the current Leader of Opposition said in a post on X, “Now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another four years.... The only way to fix what Liberals broke is a carbon tax election to elect common sense Conservatives who will bring home Canada's promise.”

Candace Laing, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement, “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau read the room and made the right call by announcing his resignation today,” Laing said in a statement.

Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party said it was wrong that the Liberals chose to shut down Parliament and not going to work. “If someone didn’t show up to work, they would get fired – and that’s what should happen. We should fire the Liberals; they let down Canadians,” he said. 

Who could replace Trudeau?

Trudeau’s withdrawal will create a vacuum and the Liberal Party now has to find his replacement who also has to lead it in the next elections. Already, some leaders have started expressing interest in filling Trudeau’s shoes. Some of the names that are doing the rounds as his possible successors are:

Chrystia Freeland: Freeland’s resignation last month made the demand for Trudeau’s resignation louder. The 56-year-old received a standing ovation at an emergency meeting of the party and her words to supporters and former staffers that “this will not be the end of the road” gave birth to speculations that she could be the next person in. Freeland’s track record of handling Trump could be one of the reasons that go on her favour. 

Mark Carney: The former head of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England could also be in the fray. The Liberal Party had tried to convince him to run for leadership in 2012 but he chose to enhance his financial career then. But Carney, 59, is seen doing the rounds in the party’s orbit again and addressed its convention in 2021. Last year, he became a special economic adviser to the Liberal Party. Even Trudeau had admitted that he had been trying to recruit Carney as a finance minister. Carney said on Monday that he would “closely” consider running for leadership. 

Anita Anand: The 57-year-old Anita Anand, Canada’s minister of transport and internal trade, has seen a quick rise through the cabinet and she is also considered among the frontrunners to replace Trudeau. Her rise was prominent during the pandemic when she excelled as the procurement minister. She became the defence minister in 2021 and was in charge when Ottawa sent aid to Ukraine after Russia invaded the country. In 2022, a Maclean’s article said the Liberal leader is among the “obvious possible leadership contenders” after Trudeau. 

Melanie Joly: In December, a piece by The New York Times on Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly had the headline: ‘Tapped by Trudeau to Steer Foreign Affairs, She's Now His Possible Successor’. The piece also called the 45-year-old a “top contender to replace Justin Trudeau”. Joly rejected that the interview was an opportunity for her to showcase her leadership ambitions but the Montreal-born leader could be a serious contender in the post-Trudeau scenario since she has already emerged as a prominent Canadian face on the world stage. 

Some other names are Dominic LeBlanc, Christy Clark, François-Philippe Champagne, Jonathan Wilkinson, Karina Gould, and Frank Baylis. 

Will it be easy for Trudeau and Liberal Party?

While Trudeau surrendered under pressure from several of his party members, the challenge might not have ended either for himself or the Liberals. 

The outgoing PM will not have a smooth ending to his tenure even after announcing to quit since the second Trump presidency is just days away and even as a lame-duck premier, the former will have to deal with tariff challenges from the new administration in Washington DC. The job entails risks for whoever succeeds Trudeau next, be it from the Liberal Party or the Conservatives if they come to power in the next election, could end up blaming him if the Canadian economy faces a major impact from the tariff war. 

The Liberal Party will also have to race against time to pick its new leader, given that Ottawa has to handle Trump’s US and other countries on economic and diplomatic fronts. Canadian political parties generally take time to choose new leadership and the Liberal Party would have to make fast but cautious efforts to pick Trudeau’s successor. There are a lot of challenges for Canada both at home and abroad at the moment and the new leader will not have an easy path to tread. 

Poilievre is watching closely.