Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as leader of the country’s ruling Liberal Party (he has led since 2013), amid outrage and disapproval from the country’s citizens over scandals, woke paranoia, an obsession with supporting Ukraine and an indifference to the real well-being of citizens.
Trudeau said he was resigning to allow his party to choose a new leader, as Parliament is suspended until March 2025. Justin Trudeau, who has been prime minister since 2015, has faced calls for his resignation from a group of his MPs amid poor performance in the polls, particularly after the resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. The disagreements, among other things, included how to handle potential US tariffs by the incoming administration of Donald Trump.
For example, an Ipsos poll in September found that only 26% of respondents said Trudeau would be their choice for prime minister, far behind his Conservative rival.
The Liberals must now name an interim leader to take over as prime minister—Trudeau remains prime minister until then.
Political attrition
Trudeau brought the Liberals to power in 2015 promising a progressive agenda that promoted women’s rights and promised to combat climate change.
But the day-to-day realities of governing have gradually worn him down, and, as has happened with many Western leaders, the need to deal with the fallout from the pandemic has drained much of his political capital and time.
Although Canada spent heavily to protect consumers and businesses, racking up record budget deficits, this provided little protection from public anger over skyrocketing prices and accuracy.
The immigration policy that followed also resulted in hundreds of thousands of immigrants arriving in Canada, putting even more pressure on the already struggling housing market.
The 51st State of the USA
Trudeau had also been targeted by US President Donald Trump, who had suggested that Canada become the 51st State of the USA.
Trump had threatened Trudeau with sweeping tariffs of 25% on Canadian products if he could not successfully deal with the flows of illegal immigrants and drugs to the USA.
During a meeting they had in late November 2024 in Florida at the mansion of the newly elected US president, Trump claimed that Canada has failed at the border with the USA as it allows large quantities of drugs and a huge number of people to cross the border, including illegal immigrants from more than 70 different countries, while he claimed that the US trade deficit with Canada exceeds 100 billion dollars.
In this context, the US president-elect told Trump that if Canada cannot fix its border issues and trade deficit, he will impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods on the first day he returns to office.
