Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation as the ruling Liberal party leader. Trudeau while announcing his resignation stated he “fought for this country” over his nearly 10-year premiership,
In his resignation speech, he said “Every morning I’ve woken up as prime minister, I have been inspired by the resilience, generosity, and the determination of Canadians, I have fought for this country, for you.”
Trudeau listed his administration’s support for Ukraine and his policy during the Covid-19 pandemic, as being among his greatest achievements since he took power in 2015.
“We rallied to support each other through the pandemic … to stand strong with Ukraine, and our democracy, to fight climate change, and to get our economy ready for the future,” he added. “We are at a critical moment in the world.”
Trudeau’s Tenure as Prime Minister
Trudeau took office in 2015 on a series of lofty promises, from tackling climate change to bolstering social programs and helping the Canadian middle class, however as at the time of his resignation, the country seemed to be far off his earlier promises.
Trudeau’s resignation comes after months of gloomy polls upped pressure from within his Liberal party for him to step down. Trudeau also led the liberal party in the 2019 and 2021 elections after which the party formed minority governments.
Achievements as Prime Minister
In his first two tenures as Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau brought about senate reforms, signed a new trade deal with the US and introduced carbon tax to reduce Canada’s gas emissions.
Trudeau also created a gender-balanced cabinet in 2015, emphasizing diversity and equality and enacted legislations to enable Canada achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. He Introduced a tax-free benefit to support low- and middle-income families, reducing child poverty significantly.
In terms of multilateral agreements, Trudeau finalized the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union and negotiated the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to replace NAFTA.
What Next?
The Liberal party is expected to name a leader to replace Justin Trudeau as soon as possible with elections set to be held before October 20. Whosoever the Liberals choose to head the party going into the polls has an important role to play in the elections.
Trudeau as part of his final acts has also suspended the parliament till March 24th to buy the Liberals time to elect a new leader much to the disagreement of the opposition who claim 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.
