(CLO) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday (January 6), and said he also plans to resign as leader of the ruling Liberal Party.
“I intend to step down as party leader, prime minister, after the party elects a new leader,” the 53-year-old told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa on Monday.
He also said that Canada’s Parliament will be suspended until March 24 while a new Liberal leader is elected. Trudeau added that he “has one regret” — not reforming Canada’s electoral process before the general election scheduled for this fall.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces his resignation outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on January 6, 2025. (Photo courtesy of AP, not for re-release)
"But I really wish we could change the way we elect our government in this country so that people could just choose a second choice or a third choice on the same ballot paper," the outgoing leader said.
Mr Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party for 11 years and prime minister for nine, is facing a series of crises, from tariff threats from US President-elect Donald Trump to his resignation as a pre-emptive option, ahead of a general election later this year that he is widely expected to lose.
Trudeau swept the Liberals to power in 2015 promising a “bright path” for Canada. He championed progressive issues like combating climate change and addressing historic abuses against indigenous people, but the final years of his presidency were marked by growing economic discontent.
Mr Trudeau's government was also rocked last year by the surprise resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, just hours before she was set to present her annual financial report.
In a scathing resignation letter, she criticized Mr Trudeau's "political maneuvering", referring to a two-month sales tax exemption and $250 Canadian rebates for most workers.
Freeland said Canada could “not afford” the policies, which were seen as a voter-pleasing campaign and came as the country faces the dire prospect of massive tariffs that could be imposed by the incoming Trump administration.
Mr Trump, who returns to the White House on January 20, has announced that he will sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all products imported into the US from Canada. Mr Trump also called Prime Minister Trudeau the "governor" of the "great state of Canada".
Bui Huy (according to CBS, CNN, Reuters)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/thu-tuong-canada-justin-trudeau-tuyen-bo-se-tu-chuc-post329285.html
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