The pressure had become too much. After a succession of disappointments since last summer, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this Monday his resignation from the position he had held since November 2015. He will remain in his position until the appointment of his successor. . He asked the governor for the “prorogation”, suspension, of parliament until March 24. Scheduled for October, general elections will take place in the coming weeks. “I am a fighter. But it became clear that I could not be the standard-bearer of the party with the current internal battles,” he said on Monday during his announcement.
For the Prime Minister, long portrayed as a golden boy fascinating his public, difficulties have accumulated since last summer. In June, the Liberal Party of Canada (PLC), its center-right party, lost a stronghold in the Toronto region. A few days later, a first voice in its ranks spoke of the leader’s resignation. In September, the first thunderclap: the center-left New Democratic Party abandoned the coalition led by the PLC, which had not had an absolute majority in parliament since early elections in 2021.
A shattering resignation on December 16, 2024
In October and November, supporters of withdrawal increased their numbers. And on December 16, the second, fatal blow: the resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, number two in the government. Disagreements with Justin Trudeau, both on a targeted reduction in VAT – which she did not want – and on the attitude to have towards Donald Trump ended up causing the break.
The Prime Minister has not spoken publicly since mid-December. His situation was made worse by the fact that Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada whom Justin Trudeau wanted to convince to join his team in order to strengthen it for the Trump presidency, declined.
-In two days a Liberal caucus is due to be held, a closed-door meeting of the party’s parliamentarians. Observers noted that it was impossible for Justin Trudeau to emerge from this session unscathed. These days, the Conservative Party will also table a motion of censure which would have had the effect of bringing down the government at the end of the month. “Everything points to federal elections in the spring,” - recently estimated.
Development follows.
