Trudeau resignation updates: Rivals, allies react as Canada’s PM steps down

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You can read more about how Trudeau’s resignation unfolded, here.

For some context on today’s events, check out our story on Trudeau’s legacy after nine years as prime minister, here.

Or find out what comes next in Canadian politics in our explainer, here.

This live page will soon be closed. Here’s what happened today:

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced plans to resign amid increased pressure from within his Liberal Party and tanking public support.
• Trudeau has said he plans to stay on until a new Liberal leader is elected, and he has prorogued – or suspended – parliament until March 24.
• The process to elect a new Liberal leader will begin this week, the party president says, with the Liberals hoping they can make up ground against the opposition Conservatives ahead of an election later this year.
• Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has attacked Trudeau and any potential replacements, saying the Liberals helped the prime minister “break the country over the last nine years”.
• The leader of the left-leaning New Democratic Party, the third-largest in Canada, also has slammed the Liberals, saying they “don’t deserve another chance”.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) says that while Trudeau came to power claiming that “Canada is back” on the world stage, “he shamefully continued the Harper-era approach of sacrificing Palestinian lives to build closer ties with Israel”.

Under Trudeau’s tenure, the Liberal government promoted a strong relationship with Israel, including on trade.

Since the Israeli military began its bombardment of Gaza in October 2023, Canada has faced growing calls to cut off Canadian military assistance to Israel and speak out more forcefully against rights abuses against Palestinians.

“While we have finally seen some positive changes to Canada’s policy in recent months … Trudeau ultimately leaves behind a sordid legacy of complicity in Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza,” CJPME’s interim President Michael Bueckert said in a statement.

“With new leadership, however, the Liberals will have an opportunity to affirm and protect the right to speak out against genocide and Zionism.”

Melanie Joly has thanked the outgoing Liberal leader for his “leadership, determination and sacrifice”.

Joly, who is among the names circulating as a possible replacement for Trudeau, has been one of the prime minister’s top allies during his nearly a decade in power.

“Over the last ten years, the Prime Minister devoted himself to making this country a better place for all Canadians,” she wrote on X.

Over the last ten years, the Prime Minister devoted himself to making this country a better place for all Canadians.

Thank you, @JustinTrudeau for your leadership, determination and sacrifice. Sending well wishes to him and his family.

— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) January 6, 2025

The threat that the incoming Trump administration in the US will impose 25-percent tariffs against Canadian goods has loomed large in the weeks leading up to Trudeau’s resignation announcement.

Candace Laing, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, has thanked the Liberal leader for his decision in light of what some experts say is a potential trade war between the North American neighbours.

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau read the room and made the right call by announcing his resignation today,” Laing said in a statement.

“His resignation marks a turning point as Canada tackles unprecedented domestic and international challenges. Canada can’t afford inaction with so much at stake,” Laing said.

“Unity is key: political leaders, businesses, and communities must come together around our common opportunities. Canada’s next Prime Minister must hit the ground running and be laser-focused on strengthening the Canada-US trade relationship.”

• Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet: “I think Prime Minister Trudeau made the right decision in choosing to step down … I wish him, after March 24, many years of happiness and serenity. But his successor will have to call elections as soon as they are in their post because, whatever we do, the current Liberal Party of Canada is the Liberal Party of Justin Trudeau.”
• NDP leader Jagmeet Singh: “Obviously, it’s wrong that the Liberals are choosing to shut down Parliament and not going to work. If someone didn’t show up to work, they would get fired – and that’s what should happen. We should fire the Liberals; they let down Canadians.”
• Green Party leader Elizabeth May: “This morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally admitted the inescapable conclusion that he had to step aside to make room for new leadership. The fact that the announcement could surprise no one is to admit the obvious – over the last year, but particularly the last few weeks since December 16, the decline in his support has been painful to watch, like a slow-moving train wreck.”

Watch the embattled Canadian prime minister’s announcement in the video below.

Michael de Adder, a prominent Canadian political cartoonist, has shared this image on social media:

Trudeau steps aside pic.twitter.com/R6FGGDhM1c

— de Adder Canada (@deAdderCanada) January 6, 2025

In a statement, Sachit Mehra has said the party’s national board will hold a meeting later this week “to begin the nation-wide democratic process of selecting a new leader of the party”.

Mehra added that members of the party are “immensely grateful to Justin Trudeau for more than a decade of leadership to our party and country”.

Please see my statement below.

More details on leadership race timelines and processes can be found in the Liberal Party of Canada’s Constitution: https://t.co/4afT2oDcHj pic.twitter.com/d9HR7sdLYC

— Sachit Mehra (@Sachitmehra) January 6, 2025

Pierre Poilievre is a name people around the world will be hearing more often as Canada heads into an election later this year.

Elected Conservative Party leader in 2022, the longtime politician has seen a rise that experts say signals the rightward shift of Canada’s main opposition party and its embrace of right-wing, populist discourse.

First elected to the House of Commons in 2004, Poilievre has represented Ottawa-area electoral districts ever since.

He held the democratic reform, and employment and social development portfolios in the cabinet of longtime Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was in government from 2006 until the party lost to Trudeau’s Liberals in 2015.

Poilievre has spent the last two years hitting out at Trudeau over everything from rising grocery costs to Canada’s international reputation. He regularly attacks journalists and perceived critics, and has been compared to US President-elect Donald Trump.

“There are a lot of commonalities between them,” Asa McKercher, a professor who studies Canada-US relations at St Francis Xavier University, told Al Jazeera last month of Trump and Poilievre.

“Mr Poilievre portrays himself as this macho, alpha kind of guy — very much fitting the manly, macho attitude of the Trump administration and the MAGA movement.”

US President-elect Donald Trump has again floated the idea of Canada becoming the “51st state”, claiming the northern neighbour can no longer “stay afloat” on its own.

“Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“If Canada merged with the US, there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them,” Trump added.

While Trump said “many” in Canada would be in favour of such a merger, polls show paltry support. A December survey by Leger Marketing, a Canadian polling firm, found just 13 percent of Canadians support the idea, with 82 percent saying they don’t like it.

However, Conservatives and supporters of the far-right People’s Party were most in favour of a merger.

In a post on X, the former finance minister has thanked Trudeau “for his years of service to Canada and Canadians”.

Chrystia Freeland, who resigned last month, added: “I wish him and his family the very best.”

Long considered one of Trudeau’s most loyal ministers, Freeland made a decision to step down that underscored deep discontent within the Liberal Party over Trudeau’s leadership.

In her resignation letter, Freeland said she had disagreed with Trudeau over a two-month sales tax holiday and other measures she said Canada could not afford in the face of possible US tariffs once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

With the threat of those tariffs looming, she said Canada’s government should be “keeping our fiscal powder dry” and warned against “costly political gimmicks”.

I thank Justin Trudeau for his years of service to Canada and Canadians. I wish him and his family the very best.

— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) January 6, 2025

Canada’s provincial premiers – many of whom have sparred with Trudeau over his handling of the climate crisis, migration and the economy – have been reacting following the prime minister’s resignation announcement.

Alberta’s right-wing Premier Danielle Smith hammered Trudeau for his decision to suspend Parliament.

The Liberals “are putting their selfish political interests ahead of the Canadian people by paralyzing Parliament and suspending democracy for months while they fight a divisive internal leadership contest”, Smith wrote on X.

“It is one of the most irresponsible and selfish acts of a government in Canadian history.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford – who in recent weeks has led a push to get Canada to do more in response to US President-elect Donald Trump’s tariffs threat – has not commented directly on Trudeau’s announcement.

Instead, he posted on X that “the federal government needs to do everything humanly possible” to avoid possible US tariffs.

For his part, Francois Legault, the right-wing premier of Quebec, who also has criticised Trudeau over his handling of the US-Canada border and possible American tariffs, thanked the prime minister for his public service.

Bien que nos opinions aient souvent divergé, je veux saluer aujourd’hui le service public de @JustinTrudeau et son engagement envers le Canada. On a des défis importants qui nous attendent, notamment avec l’arrivée de Donald Trump le 20 janvier. Je vais continuer de travailler…

— François Legault (@francoislegault) January 6, 2025

Translation: While our opinions often differed, today I want to salute Justin Trudeau’s public service and commitment to Canada. We have important challenges awaiting us, notably with the arrival of Donald Trump on January 20. I will continue to work with Mr Trudeau, his successor, and the current government to avoid these tariffs.

Two Liberal Party members considered top contenders to take over the leadership role have taken to X to praise Trudeau.

Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, wrote: “We should be thankful for Justin Trudeau’s dedication & service to our country for so many years.”

“From helping Canadians in times of need to reshaping our country’s industrial landscape & seizing generational opportunities, Canada can look forward to the future with confidence,” he wrote.

Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, added: “Thank you Prime Minister for your leadership, for your many contributions to Canada, and for the sacrifices you and your family have made for public service”.

Thank you Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau for your leadership, for your many contributions to Canada, and for the sacrifices you and your family have made for public service. 

Wishing you the best for your next chapters.

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) January 6, 2025