Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has led the country for nearly a decade, is giving up leadership of the Liberal party. In a news conference in Ottawa this morning, he said he would remain in both roles until his replacement has been chosen through a party election.
“This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” Trudeau said.
Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has said that Canada’s parliament will be suspended until March 24 while a new leader is chosen.
“Parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority parliament in Canadian history,” he said.
“This morning, I advised the Governor General that we need a new session of parliament. She has granted this request, and the House will now be prorogued until March 24.”
One of the country’s youngest-ever leaders, Trudeau burst onto political scene in 2008, when he was elected a member of Parliament, and then as leader of the Liberal Party five years later. Canadians seemed to embrace the newcomer, with Trudeau receiving rockstar-like receptions at public events.
In 2015, he campaigned on an anti-Conservative platform and won a clear majority in the October elections against Conservative leader Stephen Harper. He won successive elections in 2019 and 2021 when he lost his governing majority.
However, his popularity was short-lived. A steady series of political setbacks – including accusations of racism after old photographs surfaced of him using blackface, and anger over vaccine mandates during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trudeau has faced a flurry of opposition in recent weeks from disastrous opinion polls and the surprise resignation of his former political ally and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Opposition is also coming from south of the border with US President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
Recent polls suggest that the Liberal Party is set to badly lose to the opposition Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre. The election must be held on or before October 20 but could be brought forward.
The Liberal Party national executive, which controls leadership issues, is scheduled to meet this week. Shortly after news of Trudeau’s resignation broke, the Toronto Star released its list of potential replacements:
Here, in alphabetical order, are the top likely contenders for the job of Liberal leader.
Anita Anand, 57. MP for Oakville. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, the former law professor was first elected in 2019. As minister of procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic, she led Canada’s scramble for medical equipment and vaccines during the global race. Anand (whose name rhymes with almond) became defence minister after the 2021 election after predecessor Harjit Sajjan fumbled sexual misconduct allegations and the Canadian evacuation from Afghanistan. In 2023, Anand was shifted into Treasury Board, the central government agency that sends out the cheques, and a job that took her and her leadership ambitions out of the limelight.
Mark Carney, 59. Born in the Northwest Territories. Chairman of Brookfield Asset Management and special UN envoy on climate action and finance, Carney is a Harvard- and Oxford-educated economist and former central banker for Canada and the United Kingdom. Early gigs included working for Goldman Sachs and the Canadian finance department. Now affiliated with Canada 2020, a think tank closely aligned with Liberal politics, Carney declared allegiance to the Liberal party of Canada in 2021, but chose not to run in any of several safe Liberal seats he was encouraged to contest. Carney is believed to want the top job, and giving up his blue-chip salary to become a backbench MP was never on his bingo card.
François-Philippe Champagne, 54. A former corporate lawyer, the MP for Shawinigan speaks fluent English, French and Italian, and his nicknames — Frankie Bubbles and Energizer Bunny — speak to his reputation as an energetic pitchman in a range of cabinet jobs: international trade, infrastructure, foreign affairs and now industry. He led Ottawa’s efforts to draw international investment into building an electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain in Canada. One of three Trudeau officials charged with leading the latest Canada-U.S. charm offensive ahead of the U.S. election, Champagne is also a skilled retail politician, enthusiastically shaking hands and kissing babies, but it’s unclear if he has a political organization to galvanize.
