What we know so far about Justin Trudeau’s resignation

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday, Jan.6, 2025.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

On Monday morning outside Rideau Cottage, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he will resign from his role as Liberal Leader. Mr. Trudeau, 53, spent just over nine years leading the country.

Mr. Trudeau said he will remain as prime minister until the Liberal Party elects a new leader and that Governor-General Mary Simon had granted his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24.

For months Mr. Trudeau had been adamant in public and private conversations that he would lead the Liberals into the next election against Pierre Poilievre’s front-running Conservatives. But he capitulated after what began as a few sparks of internal revolt six months ago mushroomed into a full-scale crisis for his minority government by the end of 2024.

The final push for his exit was spurred by Chrystia Freeland’s public rebuke in late December of the Prime Minister’s policies and politics as she quit his government hours before she was scheduled to deliver the government’s fall economic statement.

What did Trudeau say during his resignation announcement?

“I intend to resign as party leader and as Prime Minister after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process. Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process,” Mr. Trudeau said in his announcement.

“This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I am having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces his resignation in the face of rising discontent over his leadership. Trudeau said that “internal battles” mean that he “cannot be the best option” in the next election. Parliament will prorogue until March 24.

The Associated Press

Asked why he decided to resign now given the pressure he’s faced for months, Mr. Trudeau in large part repeated his earlier statement.

“I am a fighter, and I am not someone who backs away from a fight, particularly when a fight is as important as this one,” Mr. Trudeau said. “It has become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election.”

Mr. Trudeau said one of his regrets is that he didn’t change the country’s electoral system as he promised when his party was first elected in 2015. The Prime Minister said he prefers a ranked ballot system rather than the current first-past-the-post regime. He said he believes such a change would lead to less polarization but said he couldn’t unilaterally make such a change.

Read the full speech of his announcement here.

What does it mean that Trudeau prorogued Parliament?

The House of Commons chamber is seen empty, Wednesday, April 8, 2020 in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Prorogation is a regular function of how Parliament works. A parliament is defined as the period between elections and each parliament is divided into sessions. There are no rules on how many sessions there must be or how long a session can last, according to the Senate of Canada website.

The prime minister has to ask the governor-general to prorogue Parliament, and typically the prime minister will make this request when an election begins. Proroguing Parliament effectively puts a stop to all activity. The current government remains in power but there are no question periods or new bills put forth. Any voting, committee work and investigations are halted. Bills that hadn’t yet received royal assent die on the Order Paper. In other words, those laws cannot be passed but when a new session begins, similar bills can be put forth.

Prorogation ends with the beginning of a new session, after which there needs to be a new Throne Speech. It also differs from dissolution, because after a prorogation the current government returns. Dissolution terminates all parliamentary functions and paves the way for the next general election.

Opposition parties MPs cannot topple the government when Parliament is prorogued because all government business comes to a halt, including non-confidence votes that would bring down Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

Who’s on the shortlist of Liberal Party Leader contenders?

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is interviewed by Chrystia Freeland, when she was a Thomson Reuters managing director and editor at the National Press Club in Washington April 18, 2013.Gary Cameron/Reuters

As Mr. Trudeau stated in his announcement, a new Liberal party leader must now be selected. There are a number of potential candidates in the running, including:

Anita Anand, president of Treasure Board and transport minister
Mark Carney, former governor for Canada and England’s central banks
François-Philippe Champagne, innovation minister
Christy Clark, former premier of B.C.
Sean Fraser, former housing minister
Chrystia Freeland, former finance minister and deputy prime minister
Mélanie Joly, foreign affairs minister
Dominic LeBlanc, recently appointed finance minister

When can Canadians expect an election?

October is when the next election is officially scheduled, but it will likely happen much sooner.

The decision to prorogue Parliament until March 24 sets the stage for a confidence vote shortly after, which appears likely to trigger a spring election campaign.

The return date is just a few days before a key parliamentary deadline of March 31, when the House of Commons is required to vote on what is called interim supply, which provides federal departments with the base funding they need to operate over the first three months of the fiscal year.

By leaving just a few days between the return of the House of Commons and that deadline, the situation ensures there will be a confidence vote in late March, either on spending or potentially on a motion to approve the Speech from the Throne that follows a prorogation.

The Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and the NDP all said Monday that they will vote to defeat the government. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, whose party has been the most frequent source of parliamentary support for the minority Liberal government, was particularly adamant Monday that the NDP will vote non-confidence in the government on the first available opportunity.

Political observers say that leaves the new Liberal leader with a near-certain spring campaign.

How the Liberals got here

October, 2000: Justin Trudeau follows the coffin of his father, Pierre Trudeau, at Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal after delivering a eulogy — considered the first sign of his political ambitions.Andre Pichette/The Globe and Mail
October, 2008: Kicking off his political career, Trudeau wins the hotly contested seat in Montreal’s Papineau riding.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
May, 2011: Trudeau wins his seat again, but the Liberal Party suffers a historic defeat, ceding official opposition status to the NDP and sparking speculation that Trudeau will vie for the Liberal leadership.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
March, 2012: Before his election as Liberal leader, Trudeau participates in a charity boxing match against Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau. While his unexpected victory boosts his public image, he is criticized for following through on a bet by cutting the Indigenous senator’s hair in the House of Commons foyer.FRED CHARTRAND/The Canadian Press
April, 2013: Trudeau embraces his mother, Margaret, after he is elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He spearheads the party’s rebuilding efforts in this period after the Liberals’ devastating defeat in the 2011 election.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
October, 2015: Trudeau leads the Liberal Party to a sweeping majority in the 2015 federal election with a campaign that pledged middle-class tax cuts, social spending and infrastructure investment.Jim Young/Reuters
November, 2015: Trudeau’s first cabinet is notable for its gender balance – 15 men and 15 women. When asked why this is important, he replies, “Because it’s 2015.”Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
March, 2016: Trudeau and then-U.S. President Barack Obama chat during a state dinner at the White House. They share a strong personal and political connection, often dubbed a “bromance.” Years later, in the aftermath of Trudeau’s blackface revelations, Obama helps bolster the Prime Minister’s 2019 re-election bid by endorsing him.Joshua Roberts/Reuters
July, 2016: Trudeau marches in the Toronto Pride Parade, making history as the first sitting PM to do so.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
July, 2016: Millions of Canadian parents begin to receive new monthly payments from Ottawa as the government officially launches the Canada Child Benefit.The Canadian Press
January, 2017: Trudeau is criticized for dropping his 2015 campaign promise to reform Canada’s electoral system.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
December, 2017: The Ethics Commissioner rules that Trudeau’s vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island a year earlier was a violation of conflict-of-interest rules.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
February, 2019: Trudeau is embroiled in the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Allegations arise that his office pressured Attorney-General Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in a legal case involving the Quebec-based engineering firm. Trudeau demotes her before she resigns over the issue and faces backlash from the opposition and media. Then-Health Minister Jane Philpott also resigns over the affair, citing a lack of confidence in Trudeau as leader.Blair Gable/The Globe and Mail
September, 2019: Pictures surface of Trudeau in blackface from his early years as a teacher during a costume party.THE VIEW YEARBOOK/Reuters
October, 2019: Trudeau’s Liberal Party wins re-election with a minority government, reflecting growing discontent among voters.SEBASTIEN ST-JEAN/AFP/Getty Images
November, 2019: Trudeau’s government approves the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Climate activists sharply oppose the move, saying it makes Trudeau’s climate action pledges during the election campaign ring hollow.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
December, 2019: Trudeau draws ire for appearing to criticize U.S. President Donald Trump during a NATO summit reception at Buckingham Palace. Trump accuses him of being “two-faced.”YUI MOK/AFP/Getty Images
March, 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic hits, a defining moment in Trudeau’s second term, during which Ottawa introduced multibillion-dollar emergency aid programs such as CERB.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
June, 2020: Amid the global protests that followed the murder of George Floyd in the United States, Trudeau takes a knee in solidarity at a Black Lives Matter protest in Ottawa.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
June, 2020: A month after Trudeau’s government announced that WE Charity would run a $912-million student grant program, the close ties between the charity’s founders, brothers Mark and Craig Kielburger, and the PM and his family prompt accusations of conflicts of interest and force the cancellation of the arrangement.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
April, 2021: Trudeau’s government actively manages the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, helping secure large quantities of vaccines for Canada and overseeing their distribution.Blair Gable/Reuters
July, 2021: Mary Simon, who is Inuit, is sworn in as the first Indigenous Governor-General of Canada, replacing former astronaut Julie Payette, who was criticized for her spending treatment of her staff.POOL/X80003
July, 2021: In the wake of the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites in Canada, Trudeau visits memorials and Indigenous communities.LIAM RICHARDS/POOL/Reuters
September, 2021: Trudeau calls a snap election during the pandemic, hoping to regain a majority, but instead gets another minority government.SEAN KILPATRICK/AFP/Getty Images
October, 2021: Trudeau apologizes for travelling to Tofino for a family vacation on the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.The Globe and Mail
February, 2022: Trudeau invokes the Emergencies Act for the first time since it was enacted in 1988 to clear a convoy of truckers and their supporters occupying downtown Ottawa and at least one border crossing in Alberta to protest Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.Cole Burston/Getty Images
March, 2022: The Liberals sign an agreement with the NDP in which the latter will support the minority government. The NDP pull out of the agreement in September, 2024.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
June, 2023: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomes Trudeau amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Canada has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and has accepted tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the war.UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER/Reuters
July, 2023: Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau announce they are separating after 18 years of marriage. He is the second prime minister to separate while in office — the first was his father, Pierre Trudeau.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
August, 2023: The first signs of serious political trouble for the Prime Minister appear when the Bank of Canada hikes interest rates for a final time in July, 2023, in response to skyrocketing inflation that is putting immense pressure on households across the country. The minority Liberals are accused of turning a blind eye to the challenge and, after a major cabinet shuffle, end their cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, saying they need more time to come up with a policy response.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
October, 2023: Trudeau holds up a sign with attendees during a pro-Israel rally at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre in Ottawa just days after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
November, 2023: Protesters call on Canada to cut military aid to Israel at a Liberal Party fundraising event in Ottawa.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
February, 2024: Trudeau joins European leaders in Kyiv. Canada and other allies have been asked not to forget about the Russia-Ukraine war as attention and resources have been diverted to conflicts in the Middle East.POOL UNION EUROPEENNE / AGENCE H/Reuters
June, 2024: The Long-time Liberal stronghold of Toronto–St. Paul is lost to the Conservatives in a stunning byelection. Voters show their disaffection with the Liberals, who had held the seat for more than 30 years.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
October, 2024: Trudeau leaves a three-hour caucus meeting and tells reporters the Liberals are ‘strong and united’ after more than 20 of his MPs told him to quit.Patrick Doyle/Reuters
November, 2024: Trudeau meets with incoming U.S. president Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss the Canada-U.S. relationship after Trump vowed to implement 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods.Supplied
December, 2024: Hours before she is set to release the Fall Economic Statement, Chrystia Freeland steps down as finance minister and deputy prime minister after Trudeau tells her via a Zoom call that he wants to replace her with Mark Carney.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Trudeau announces his resignation as Liberal Leader and Prime Minister outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, citing the polarization in Parliament. “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,” he says. He also asks Governor-General Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament until March 24, which she grants.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Mr. Trudeau, the oldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, was elected to the House of Commons in 2008 and then as party leader five years later.

2015

He led the Liberals from third-place status in the Commons to a majority government in 2015, roundly defeated the Conservatives on a campaign promising a significant shift away from the policies of then-prime minister Stephen Harper, particularly on climate change and Indigenous reconciliation.

2019

By his second election, the shine of Trudeau’s “sunny ways” began to wear off with ethics scandals and broken promises. That pushed the Liberals into a minority government.

2021

To regain strength, Mr. Trudeau called a snap election but that hardly moved the dial, with the party winning nearly identical seats.

Spring 2022

The Liberals had to get support from the NDP with a supply-and-confidence agreement. The NDP propped up the minority Liberals in exchange for action on key files such as pharmacare and dental care.

Fall 2022

The Conservatives elected Pierre Poilievre. In the two years since, the long-time MP has led his party to a commanding lead in public opinion through relentless attacks on Mr. Trudeau and his government, accusing them of being out of touch with the concerns of Canadians.

2024

The Liberals tried to fend off Mr. Poilievre’s attacks by touting policies such as their carbon tax rebates and national child care program but failed to gain traction. Meanwhile, in September, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh tore up the supply-and-confidence agreement.

Mr. Poilievre ultimately prompted a new approach: The Liberals hit pause on the carbon price for home heating fuel, introduced billions in new spending in a bid to generate housing supply and recently put in place a two-month GST holiday on popular consumer goods and services.

Canadians have rewarded none of those efforts with boosts in the polls.

Throughout last year, a number of MPs with high-profile portfolios resigned or said they would not run in the next election, including Sean Fraser, Randy Boissonnault, Carla Qualtrough, Pablo Rodriguez and Seamus O’Regan.

In December, Chrystia Freeland stepped down from her cabinet positions after learning days earlier that Mr. Trudeau intended to remove her as finance minister in order to put Mark Carney in her seat. She wrote a scathing letter that painted a picture of the once-close allies as starkly apart on key issues.

Recent polls saw Liberals with 21% support, while Conservatives hovered close to 47%.

2025

Not even a week into the new year, at least two dozen Liberal MPs had publicly demanded Mr. Trudeau’s exit.

How have political leaders and others reacted to Trudeau’s resignation?

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters Monday he’ll vote to bring down the Liberal government no matter who the next leader will be, saying the party itself has let down Canadians.

“They do not deserve another chance,” he said.

In a statement after Mr. Trudeau’s announcement, Mr. Poilievre said the country needs an immediate general election rather than a Liberal leadership race. He painted all Liberal MPs and potential leadership candidates with the same brush as Mr. Trudeau, arguing that they all supported the government’s policies until Canadians started to turn on the governing party.

“They want to protect their pensions and paycheques by sweeping their hated leader under the rug months before an election to trick you,” the Conservative Leader said in a statement.

“The Liberals know how wrong this all is, that’s exactly why they shut down Parliament and paralyze government, all to save their own skins.”

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François said Mr. Trudeau made the right decision and agreed that an election must be held. He said his party would not work with any new Liberal leader to keep the minority government in power.

“The institution we are facing is the Liberal Party of Canada, it has been deeply transformed by Mr. Trudeau and there is no possible way for this party to become something else in a few weeks,” he said.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May posted a statement to X, saying that watching the prime minister’s downfall was akin to painfully watching a slow-motion train wreck. But she also wrote about “the basic human things that should be said,” detailing how she watched his early rise in politics while he prioritized fatherhood.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he still expects outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to work with him and the other premiers to avoid U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threatened 25-per-cent tariffs.

“We need the Prime Minister to focus 100 per cent on the U.S. tariffs,” Mr. Ford told reporters Monday at Queen’s Park. “We have 14 days left before [Mr. Trump] is inaugurated. And we need to focus and make sure these tariffs don’t move forward. And if they do move forward, we need to make sure that the federal government has a strong plan.”

But he also said the Prime Minister’s imminent departure creates uncertainty and undermines Canada’s position in talks with the incoming administration – meaning the premiers need to take more of a leadership role.

Across social media, right-wing politicians, influencers and conspiracy theorists have posted gleeful reactions to Justin Trudeau’s resignation announcement.

On Truth Social, president-elect Donald Trump reiterated his recent talking point that the U.S. should annex Canada, which he said would eliminate the need for tariffs and lower taxes. “Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned.”

With reports from Marieke Walsh, Robert Fife, Stephanie Levitz, Bill Curry, Jeff Gray and Samantha Edwards.

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