Canada's Trudeau Plans to Step Down

Trudeau's resignation caps a decadelong political career during which the 53-year-old rose to global political stardom as a young, handsome and unabashed progressive whose appeal faded over time, until he became so unpopular that his Liberal Party forced him to step down before elections that must happen no later than October.

Trudeau said he would stay on until the party picks a new leader, a process that could take months and draw from the ranks of critics who pushed him out. The Liberal Party trails badly in the polls to the

Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, a populist who would be elected prime minister if the election were held now.

"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.

Trudeau is the latest standard-bearer for progressive politics to suffer from a voter backlash, amid economic stagnation in Europe, discontent with aggressive climate policies and a growing resistance to immigration. With Trump set to return to the White House on Jan. 20, conservatives and populist right-wing parties have also made unprecedented gains in the European Union, where three-quarters of governments are either led by a right-of-center party or are ruled by a coalition that includes at least one.

The Canadian leader would exit as one of the most unpopular political figures in the country, leaving his party in a weakened position and his country facing an uncertain economic future. Voters blame Trudeau for rising costs and housing shortages that were aggravated by looser immigration policies.

His approval rating fell to about 20%, and the Liberal Party trails the Conservatives by over 20 percentage points.

"In the last couple of years, Trudeau has not been an effective politician," said Bruce Anderson, a longtime pollster, communications strategist and political commentator in Ottawa. "He's kind of lost his political antenna." On top of Canada's other economic woes, Trump is promising, among other measures, to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports unless drugs and migrants stop coming across the northern border. While that threat is seen to be aimed more at Mexico, it still presents a political headache for Canada's leaders.

Trudeau's hold on power grew tenuous in December, after the left-leaning New Democratic Party, which had been propping up his minority government, said it was withdrawing its support.

That setback came days after the resignation of the finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, his deputy and trusted ally. She said she left the cabinet because she thought Trudeau wasn't taking adequate steps to prepare for a possible trade war with Washington.

Freeland is now seen as a top contender to succeed Trudeau, along with Mark Carney, the former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor. He also moved to suspend the current session of Parliament until March 24, to avoid facing a no-confidence vote that would trigger a snap election while the party is still searching for a new leader.

Trudeau's luster began to fade in 2019, four years after taking office, after his former justice minister accused him of interfering in a corruption investigation into Montreal engineering company, SNC-Lavalin Group. The country's ethics watchdog ruled that actions by Trudeau and his aides were "tantamount to political direction." Trudeau accepted responsibility for what unfolded, although he said he disagreed with some of the watchdog's findings.

Pictures then emerged of Trudeau in brown makeup and wearing blackface at separate parties, undermining his reputation for inclusivity.

He never regained his standing, leading minority governments for the past five years.

Capitalizing on Trudeau's misfortune has been Poilievre, 45, who has pulled from the same playbook that has animated right-wing populists in the U.S., Argentina, and across Europe. Poilievre has promised to lower taxes, including cutting an unpopular carbon tax, restrain government spending and cut red tape to accelerate home construction.

He has blamed Trudeau's relatively loose fiscal policy for fueling higher prices.

Poilievre also channeled Canadian anger at Trudeau's Covid-era policies and sided with the Freedom Convoy trucker protests, which shut central Ottawa and parts of the border with the U.S.

Trudeau's government used emergency powers to quell the protests, which further inflamed anger toward his government, and added weight to Poilievre's argument that Trudeau was guilty of flouting people's freedoms.

The sharp rise in postpandemic prices, combined with the aggressive interest-rate increases required to tame inflation, was a double whammy for Canadian households, which on a per capita basis are among the most indebted in the developed world. Pollsters said it was a miscalculation for Trudeau government to press ahead with carbon tax increases when people were struggling with high prices.

"There was a delay in understanding the pain points for Canadians," said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, a polling firm.

She added Trudeau had fallen victim to voter fatigue, after almost 10 years in power and three election campaigns.

Only four Canadian prime ministers-among them Trudeau's father, Pierre-have won more than three elections.

Trudeau said he spent the holiday break weighing his future, and on Sunday night revealed his decision over dinner with his family.

On Monday, Trudeau tried to recall the spirit of his first days as leader. "I've always been a fighter," he said, but acknowledged that his presence on the ticket might have been too much for Canadian voters.

"It's time for a reset," he said.