Once the fresh face of his party, Trudeau became a drag on its fortunespublished at 17:38 Greenwich Mean Time 6 January

17:38 GMT 6 January

Jessica Murphy
BBC News, Toronto

Image source, Getty Images

For months now – in the face of a frustrated electorate, a political rival surging in the polls, and most importantly, a deepening dislike from voters - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faced variations of the same question: “Will you step down?”

He has always stood firm, vowing he would be the one to lead the party into the next election.

But the shock resignation of his key deputy, former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, in mid-December proved to be the toppling domino that led to todays’ announcement.

Trudeau swept to power nearly a decade ago, heralded as the fresh face of progressive politics. In 2015, swayed by his youthful charisma and a hopeful political message, voters catapulted the Liberals from a third-place party into a majority - unprecedented in Canadian political history.

He remains the only leader left standing among peers when he came into office, from Barack Obama to Angela Merkel, Shinzo Abe and David Cameron, and is currently the longest-serving leader in the G7.

But in the years since, and over two general elections, Trudeau and his brand have become a drag on the party’s fortunes.

A series of early ethics scandals began to take the sheen off the new government. He was found to have violated federal conflict of interest rules in the handling of a corruption inquiry – the SNC-Lavalin affair - and for luxury trips to the Bahamas.

In 2020, he faced scrutiny for picking a charity with ties to his family to manage a major government programme.

More recently, Trudeau faced headwinds over the cost of living and inflation, which have contributed to incumbent election upsets around the world.

And after more than nine years in power, he is among Canada’s longest serving prime ministers, and there is a general sense of fatigue and frustration with his government.

In the end, pressure from his own MPs, who over the holidays made it clear they no longer supported his leadership, made staying on near impossible.

Samira Hussain
South Asia Correspondent

Here in India, television news channels were covering Justin Trudeau’s impending resignation with breathless anticipation. Leading news sites had Trudeau’s political demise on their front pages.

The relationship between India and Canada has been at an all-time low after Mr Trudeau’s government accused Indian agents of being involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen gunned down outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia in June 2023, which led to tit-for-tat expulsions of top diplomats from both countries.

India believes the fraying relationship is a result of what it considers Mr. Trudeau’s pandering to the large Sikh population in Canada, and the government is greeting his political defeat as welcome news.

The Indian government believes that a new prime minister will usher in a new relationship for Canada and India. So much of diplomacy is dependent on personal relationships and Prime Ministers Trudeau and Modi have never been particularly fond of each other.

The reality though is that when it comes to issues of national security, regardless of party lines, Canadian politicians don’t tend to change course as dramatically as India may believe.

Image source, Reuters

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has just released a statement in reaction to Justin Trudeau's resignation announcement, claiming "nothing has changed".

"Every Liberal MP and Leadership contender supported EVERYTHING Trudeau did for 9 years, and now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another 4 years, just like Justin," Poilievre writes on X.

"The only way to fix what Liberals broke is a carbon tax election to elect common sense Conservatives who will bring home Canada's promise," he continues.

Canada has a carbon pricing system intended to help combat climate change, which is sometimes called a "carbon tax". Conservatives say it has driven up the prices of everyday goods, and are calling for a vote on it.

In a video attached to the post, Poilievre criticises what he calls Trudeau's "out of control spending, debt and immigration" and says all Liberal MPs supported it.

As a reminder, Trudeau said during his speech that Pierre Poilievre's vision is "not the right one for Canadians".

Holly Honderich
in Toronto

Image source, Getty Images

Trudeau's resignation marks the end of an era for Canadian politics.

The prime minister came to power in 2015, winning a majority government for the Liberals after years in the political wilderness, with the party falling behind both the Conservatives and the left-leaning New Democratic Party in Parliament.

Trudeau, the son of another Liberal prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, saved the party and then rebuilt it in his image. Now, the Liberals will need another major resuscitation if they hope to overcome dismal public polling in the looming federal election.

Image source, Getty Images

Christy Clark, a former premier of British Columbia who is considered a possible contender to replace Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party, has paid tribute to the outgoing PM.

In a post on social media, she thanks Trudeau for his service, and says: "As a lifelong Liberal I look forward to joining tens of thousands of Canadians to choose our next Leader.

"This is the biggest opportunity in over a decade that we've had to grow our Party and welcome new Liberals - including Canadians concerned about the future of our country - let's seize it!"

One of the first to react to Trudeau's resignation is former central banker and potential Liberal Party candidate for leader, Mark Carney.

Carney, who was previously head of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, wrote on X, external: "Thank you Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 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."

Carney is one of several individuals rumoured to succeed Trudeau. You can find out about the other frontrunners here.

Jagmeet Singh's party of the left-wing New Democrats long helped prop up Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in exchange for some of his own political policy priorities.

He pulled that formal support late last year, and he is the first opposition leader to react to Trudeau's resignation today.

"Justin Trudeau's Liberals let down Canadians. They let you down on home prices. They let you down on healthcare. They let you down by allowing corporate greed to run wild. Even with the country facing another serious blow to Canadian jobs and our cost of living – this time from Donald Trump – they're still focused only on themselves and their political fate," he said in a statement.

1. Justin Trudeau says he will resign as Liberal party leader - and then as prime minister when a successor is found
2. He says he is a fighter but that "internal battles" mean he can't be the leader of the Liberals in the next election
3. Standing down is an opportunity to bring the temperature down, he says
4. Parliament will be prorogued - that is when all proceedings, debates and votes are suspended - until March
5. He had hoped his finance minister, long-time ally Chrystia Freeland, who quit in December, would have continued in the job "but she chose otherwise"

Justin Trudeau's news conference has now ended, after speaking and answering questions from the press for around 30 minutes.

We'll be bringing you a recap and analysis of what we've just heard - so stay with us.

Image source, Reuters

Trudeau is asked what sort of political chances he is leaving to any potential successor as leader of the Liberal Party.

He says he has a "tremendous amount of confidence" in Canadians and parliamentarians' interest in serving them.

He says he feels removing the "contention" around his own leadership is an opportunity to bring the temperature down and have a government that focuses on the complex issues that are facing Canadians in the coming months.

Answering questions from reporters while speaking in Ottawa, Trudeau says "Parliament has been entirely ceased by obstruction" as well as a "total lack of productivity over the past few months".

He said "it's time for a reset" and for the "temperature to come down" in Canadian politics.

Trudeau, who is in his third term as prime minister, said it was time for a "fresh start in parliament" in order for the country to navigate "complex" times domestically and internationally.

He added the reset will constitute two parts - the prorogation of parliament until late March and Trudeau's resignation which, he believes, will "decrease the level of polarisation" in politics.

Trudeau says this prorogation of Parliament will take us into March.

There will be confidence votes in March, which will allow parliament to weigh in on the next steps for Canadian government, he says, adding that this process is in keeping with the workings of democracy.

Trudeau goes on to talk about Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

He says Poilievre's vision is "not the right one for Canadians".

Stopping the fight against climate change "doesn't make sense", Trudeau says, and continues to list further disagreements with Poilievre.

"We need an ambitious, optimistic view of the future," he says, adding: "Pierre Poilievre is not offering that".

Jessica Murphy
Reporting from Toronto

Image source, Getty Images

Trudeau has underscored a number of times today that he is "a fighter".

Anyone following Canadian politics in the last decade will have seen Trudeau is boxing gear in the ring, especially early in his time as PM.

But most famously, it was a charity boxing match that helped launch him as Liberal leader.

In 2012, a fight against a Conservative senator was a milestone on his route to power, with his win in the ring launching chatter among Liberal power players about his leadership potential.

Almost a year later, in 2013, he was crowned party leader. His party won a general election two years later, making him prime minister.

Trudeau says he had really hoped his long-time ally Chrystia Freeland would continue as finance minister and deputy prime minister, but "she chose otherwise".

As for what happened when she resigned just weeks ago, he says: "I'm not someone who is in the habit of sharing private conversations."

As a reminder, Freeland quit suddenly in mid-December, increasing the pressure on Trudeau's leadership.

Trudeau, who is now answering questions from reporters, said his one regret of his premiership has been his failure to introduce electoral reform.

In particular, he said he wanted Canadians to be able to choose their second and third choices in elections.

He said this would have helped reduce polarisation in society and ensure "common ground" between political parties.

Trudeau says that Canada is a better country today than when he took office as prime minister in 2015.

He says his government made the economy work for everyone, not just a few - he says reduced poverty and got more people into the workforce.

Trudeau is now taking questions from the press.

He repeats that he is a fighter, and not someone who backs away from a fight.

But, he says, he has always been driven by a love for Canada and the best interest of Canadians.

Canadians deserve a real choice in the next election, Trudeau explains, and says because of "internal battles" he can't be the leader of the Liberals in the next election.

Image source, CPAC

Trudeau says he is excited to see the process that will replace him unfold in the months ahead.

He says his Liberal Party was elected for the third time in 2021 to strengthen the economy post-pandemic and advance Canada's interests, and says that is the job he and his party will continue to do.