Canada Prime Minister, Trudeau Resigns

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation from office.

Speaking on Monday, the PM said he will leave office as soon as the ruling Liberal party chooses a new leader.

“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister,” Trudeau, who has been in power since 2015, told reporters in Ottawa following a protracted political crisis that saw top Liberal allies urge him to quit.

The PM said the Liberal leadership race will be “a robust, nationwide competitive process.” That means Trudeau will continue to lead Canada when incoming US president Donald Trump takes office this month and will be tasked with leading the country’s initial response to the new US administration, including a possible trade war.

Recall that Trump has vowed to impose 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian imports, which could prove devastating to the Canadian economy, and Trudeau has pledged to retaliate.

Before taking over the Liberal party in 2013, Trudeau, now 53, was not a leading political figure. His most prominent political attribute at the time was arguably the fact that his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, had been one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers.