Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau To Announce Resignation Today

The news was first reported by the Globe and Mail on Sunday night, citing three sources. The outlet said that it is unclear when exactly the Liberal Party leader will step down, but a resignation is expected to come before a national caucus meeting on Wednesday.

The news comes as Trudeau’s popularity continues to dwindle in Canada, which has a national election planned for Oct. 20 of this year. The country continues to suffer from a housing crisis, a declining per-capita GDP and high inflation, among other issues.

According to Canadian pollster Angus Reid, Trudeau has a disapproval rate of around 68% as of Dec. 24, with a meager 28% of Canadians supporting him.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could announce his resignation as early as Monday, 

The potential resignation would also come after Trudeau, who became prime minister in 2015, braved a difficult few months in politics. In September, he faced a no confidence vote in parliament that later failed, despite efforts from the Conservative Party to remove him from office.

On Dec. 16, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that she was stepping down from Trudeau’s cabinet, dealing a significant blow to the prime minister. In her resignation letter, she claimed that the only “honest and viable path” was to leave the Cabinet.

“For the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada,” Freeland, who was previously seen as a Trudeau loyalist, wrote.

“Our country is facing a grave challenge,” the letter added. “That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war.”

Later in December, one of Trudeau’s key allies, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, said that he planned to present a formal motion of no-confidence on Jan. 27.