After facing a barrage of skepticism and infighting regarding his leadership, Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation as Liberal Leader and Prime Minister.
He has also arranged for the prorogation of parliament until March 24th, which will end the current parliamentary session that was scheduled resume on January 27th. It will also kill all bills that are currently on the table and have yet to be passed, including any measures promised on Trudeau’s economic statement.
In the coming weeks, the Liberal Party will select a new leader, and the next parliamentary session will begin with a Speech from the Throne and a confidence vote. This could trigger an early federal election if the three main opposition parties vote non-confidence.
At Rideau Cottage in Ottawa this morning, Trudeau was asked by reporters if he thinks his decision to prorogue parliament is undemocratic, as it doesn’t allow parliament to express its lack of confidence in the Liberal government.
He replied by saying parliament needs to “calm down a bit,” as it has been overwhelmed with filibustering, obstruction, and a lack of productivity over the past few months.
“The reset that we have is actually two parts. One is the prorogation, but the other part is recognizing that removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal Party should also decrease the level of polarization that we’re seeing right now in the House and in Canadian politics.”
He assures that as the Liberal Party goes through the leadership process, the government and the cabinet will still be focused on “fighting for Canadians’ interests, stand up for their wellbeing, and make sure that Canadian’s are protected and strong.”
Trudeau says if he has one regret about his term as Prime Minister, he wishes his party would have been able to change the election process so that voters could mark a second and third choice on the same ballot.
“People would have been looking for things they have in common instead of trying to polarize and divide Canadians against each other.”
Former Finance Minister for the Liberals, Chrystia Freeland, made a brief post on X following the announcement. “I thank Justin Trudeau for his years of service to Canada and Canadians. I wish him and his family the very best,” she wrote.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also posted a graphic with the message “Justin Trudeau has let you down over and over. He let you down on the cost of housing and groceries. He let you down on fixing healthcare. It doesn’t matter who leads the Liberals. They don’t deserve another change. Conservatives are jumping at the opportunity to take from you and give more to CEOs. You will pay the price of Poilievre’s cuts. If you oppose callous Conservative cuts; if you oppose the rich getting richer while everyone else falls further behind- stand with the NDP this time. You can have a government that works for you for a change.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also voiced his reaction to the announcement on X, stating “Nothing has changed. 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. 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.” A video of his full statement is attached under the statement.
