A political storm is shaking Canada as the wind of a Justin Trudeau resignation has been blowing strongly in the corridors of Parliament for several days. It has now become official on January 7, 2025: the Prime Minister of Canada has announced that he will be leaving office.
Also read: Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau officially resigns
According to what Liberal sources confirmed to the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star this Sunday, January 5, 2025, the leader of the Liberal Party was to publicly announce his departure by Tuesday. It was finally late Monday morning that the Prime Minister spoke to the media in Ottawa about his political future.
“I intend to resign as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and as Prime Minister, once the party has chosen its next leader following a rigorous and competitive national process. »
Now, many are wondering what this decision implies, especially since Justin Trudeau has also announced that Parliament will be prorogued until March 2025. This announcement will have numerous impacts on the Canadian population and here is what to know about the next steps within the federal government.
Why did Justin Trudeau resign?
In recent weeks, several MPs from Justin Trudeau’s party have publicly called for his resignation, while his popularity rating has reached its lowest level in the latest polls and he has lost his right-hand man, Chrystia Freeland, who among others left his post as deputy prime minister on December 16.
Faced with this internal crisis, an emergency meeting of the Liberal caucus was planned for this Wednesday, January 8, 2025. This was also to mark the deadline for the leader to announce his intentions to leave, according to the Globe and Mail .
In his address to the nation, he explained that his decision had become obvious. “The country deserves a clear and real choice in the next elections. It has become clear to me that if I have to focus on internal battles, I cannot be the best option in these elections. »
When will Justin Trudeau leave his post?
Now that a statement was inevitable, Trudeau revealed his resignation plan. The head of state plans to leave office when a successor is elected. by liberal members. He remains Prime Minister of Canada until then. A race for the leadership of the party will therefore be organized in the coming weeks.
“Last night, I asked the party president to begin the necessary steps,” he said during his press briefing. According to the liberal Constitution, the president must convene a meeting of the National Council to be held within 27 days following the announcement of the prime minister’s resignation.
It is then that a voting date for the election of a leader will be set. As candidates for leadership will have to submit their candidacy at least 90 days before the day of the said election, we can expect the process to take a few months.
Is Canada in an election?
Not for now. When announcing his departure, Justin Trudeau announced that he was proroguing Parliament until March 2025.
“Parliament has been paralyzed for months. […] That’s why this morning I met with the Governor General to let her know that we need a new session of Parliament. She granted my request and the House will therefore be prorogued until March 24. »
A prorogation means in particular that all the work of Parliament is suspended. They will therefore resume when the new Liberal cabinet is formed. A Speech from the Throne will then be given in which the government is expected to outline its priorities and program.
“Parliament needs a resethe needs to calm down a little to get back to work for Canadians,” said Justin Trudeau.
While the next federal election must be held no later than October 20, 2025, it is very likely that it will be called before this date. As the Liberal government is currently in the minority, the opposition parties have not hidden since the start of this political crisis that they want an overthrow and elections as soon as possible.
We can therefore expect a motion of censure as soon as parliamentary work resumes in the spring to push for a dissolution of Parliament and the holding of general elections.
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