Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference in Ottawa on Monday.
During the conference, Trudeau says he will step down as Liberal leader, but stay on as prime minister until the party chooses a replacement.
During the press conference, Trudeau says that he had time to reflect and had long conversations with family members during the holiday break, and that he has come to the conclusion that he will step down as Canada’s prime minister.
Trudeau has been the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada since 2013 and has served as Prime Minister since 2015.
Critics have called for his resignation
The once very popular leader has seen his halo fade over the past year, not least because of rising living costs, and calls for his resignation have grown both within and outside his own Liberal Party.
His government recently narrowly avoided a series of no-confidence votes and critics have called for his resignation.
Trudeau’s closest confidants dropped out
According to AP, the three largest opposition parties in parliament have all said they are prepared to bring down Trudeau’s minority government. Within his own liberal party, according to the public service company CBC, more than 20 members of parliament have internally demanded the leader’s resignation.
In December, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, one of Trudeau’s closest confidants, resigned. She herself stated that the resignation was her only “honest and possible” choice after Trudeau offered her another portfolio in the government.
Trudeau’s resignation could save the battered Liberal Party from facing another no-confidence vote when parliament opens for the year. They would most likely then be convicted, and forced to call a new election – where they would almost as surely lose power to the conservative party.
But even if the Liberals were to avert the threat of a new election, a general election must be called sometime in 2025.