BREAKING: Trudeau announces resignation plan, will stay on as interim PM as he suspends Parliament

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that he intends to resign as leader of the Liberal Party after a new leader is selected. The announcement came after months of speculation about his political future. With the approval of Governor General Mary Simon he has also prorogued – or shut down – Parliament until March 24.

At a news conference in front of the Rideau Cottage that has served as the prime minister's residence since 24 Sussex has been renovated, Trudeau described Parliament as "paralyzed" and said a new session was required. 

"That's why this morning, I advised the Governor General that we need a new session of parliament," Trudeau told reporters. "She has granted this request, and the House will now be prorogued until March 24 over the holidays, I've also had a chance to reflect. I've had long talks with my family about our future throughout the course of my career, any success I have personally achieved has been because of their support, with their encouragement. Last night, over dinner, I told my kids about the decision that I'm sharing with you today, I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process. Last night I asked the President to the Liberal Party to begin that process."

Trudeau will remain as interim prime minister until a Liberal Party convention selects a new leader, a process that could take months. As a lameduck leader, Trudeau will have to confront President Donald Trump's threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian products to force Canada to improve its security at the Canada-US border. Although the Trudeau government has promised to spend $1.3 billion on border security, the money will be dispensed over six years. Trump has continued to troll Trudeau over social media throughout the Christmas break, suggesting he would make a good governor of the "51st state."

The Conservative Official Opposition had planned to introduce a non-confidence motion when Parliament resumed sitting on Jan. 27 following the Holiday break.

But Trudeau dismissed Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre in remarks to reporters following the official announcement, saying Poilievre "vision for his country is not the right one for Canadians" as he accused him of "stopping the fight against climate change" and working against the "values" and "diversity" that Trudeau said define Canada. He accused Poilievre of "attacking journalists" and criticized his plan to defund the CBC.

"That's not what Canadians need at this moment. We need an ambitious, optimistic view of the future, and Pierre Poilievre is not offering that. I look forward to the fight as progressives across this country stand up for the kind of vision for a better country that Canadians have always carried despite the tremendous pressures around the world to think smaller, to veer towards the heart right, and to be less ambitious for what we could be and do as a country, when the world really needs Canada," he said. 

Poilieve said Monday that Trudeau's planned resignation doesn't change any of the dynamics for the next federal election, which he says will be about Liberal government ineptitude that transcends Trudeau. "So given that liberal MPs and leadership contenders unanimously supported everything Trudeau has done, why dump him now, right before an election, have they had a change of heart? Is it because they feel guilty that they doubled housing costs, hiked, taxes, unleashed crime, broke immigration forced a quarter of the population into poverty?" he asked.

"No, they continued supporting Trudeau when he did all of those things. No, their only objection is that he is no longer popular enough to win an election and keep them in power. They want to protect their pensions and paycheck by sweeping their hated leader under the rug months before an election to trick you and then do it all over again."

Trudeau faced mounting criticism of his leadership from his own caucus MPs, with a clear majority demanding he resign. A confrontation that he had with a Emily Duggan while he was in BC for a ski vacation went viral on social media after the video was posted. She told the prime minister to "get the f*ck out of BC." 

An election to determine a new prime minister is not planned until October but a successful non-confidence vote could bring down the government at any time after the House of Commons resumes sitting in March. 

This is a developing story.