On Monday January 6th, Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau announced his resignation. He said in an official press conference that once the Liberal Party picks a new leader he will leave office. But why is Trudeau stepping down?
While Trudeau won re-election in 2021, he has been at the center of many political controversies in recent times. In April, Trudeau’s government implemented a carbon tax in an effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The aim is to disincentivize the use of fossil fuels, and then to reinvest the tax money back to Canadian families.
However, the conservative opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, has claimed that it is only contributing to the cost of living crisis. Another related reason is a housing crisis facing many Candians. Over the past few years interest rates have risen, increasing costs. During Trudeau’s terms, immigration has also increased to record levels. This influx of the population has created a large housing demand.
The nail in the coffin for Trudeau came with the election of the future U.S. President Donald Trump and the subsequent interactions between them. Trump threatened Canada with a 25% tariff. Trudeau negotiated with Trump at his Mar-A-Lago estate, but returned with little. This caused Trudeau deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to resign. In her resignation letter she cited that “we need to take this threat extremely seriously” and she believes that the Prime Minister lost confidence in her.
Some of the possible replacements for Trudeau are Former Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland and Former central banker Mark Carney. While Freeland had long been seen as a trusted senior official in his inner circle, a rift with the prime minister’s office led to her recent abrupt resignation in December. Her criticism of Trudeau in her public resignation letter piled the pressure on him and made his departure seem inevitable. As for Mark Carney, Trudeau himself admitted that he had long been trying to recruit Mr Carney to his team, most recently as finance minister. Trudeau told reporters on the sidelines of a Nato conference in July 2024, “He would be an outstanding addition at a time when Canadians need good people to step up in politics.” All eyes are on Canada to see what their next step forward is on the choosing of their next prime minister. There will be an election where the representatives will choose the next prime minister.