In the face of abysmal approval ratings and at least two dozen of his colleagues calling on him to step down, the prime minister appears to have finally taken the hint.
What happened: After nine years at the helm, Justin Trudeau has resigned as leader of the Liberal Party and will suspend Parliament until March 24 while the party chooses his replacement.
- Trudeau, who will stay on as the PM until a new Liberal leader is chosen, said he no longer felt that he had enough support from his own party to fight in the next election.
Why it matters: With a federal election expected to be triggered soon after Parliament resumes in March, Trudeau’s eleventh-hour resignation gives the new Liberal leader little time to overcome the Conservative's nearly 25-point lead in the polls.
- Rumoured leadership candidates include former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, and former B.C. premier Christy Clark.
Zoom out: Trudeau is just the latest incumbent leader to be ousted in recent months. Rishi Sunak was trampled in the U.K.’s election last summer, U.S. Democrats were handed a convincing loss in November, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote just last month — triggering a February election that’s not expected to go his way.—LA