Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister since 2015 and Liberal Party Leader beginning in 2013, announced on January 6th that he would be resigning upon the picking of a new leader by the Liberal Party, “This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.” This comes as Trudeau’s approval rating continues to decline with Pierre Poiliverre and the Conservative Party being favored to win the upcoming election which must occur by October of this year, seeing Canada most likely follow the global shift to the right alongside the US.
Son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who resigned after serving 4 terms in 1984, 53-year-old Justin Trudeau has spent his entire life in the public eye, famously delivering a eulogy at his father’s funeral in 2000 which greatly increased his popularity among Canadians. Receiving his bachelor’s degree in literature in 1994 from McGill University and education in 1998 from the University of British Columbia before working as a high school teacher; Trudeau made his official entry into politics in 2006 after being appointed chair of the Liberal Party’s task force on youth issues. He would be elected to parliament in 2008, eventually campaigning to become head of the then disheartened Liberal Party in 2012, winning in 2013 and leading his party to victory in the 2015 federal election, becoming Prime Minister, and remaining in power to this day.
As prime minister, Trudeau is most notorious for his policies on immigration and climate change as well as his handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic and interactions with Donald Trump. Despite major pushback from conservatives, Trudeau still managed to implement the controversial and unpopular carbon tax intended to lower emissions. On top of this, soon after becoming Prime Minister, Trudeau opened the Canadian border to thousands of Syrian immigrants, and when American President Donald Trump instituted a travel ban on those coming from Majority Muslim states, Trudeau claimed that Canada would welcome all those fleeing “persecution, terror & war,” regardless of faith, and that diversity is Canada’s strength.
Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, Trudeau aimed to place strict regulatory measures on the country in order to prevent the spread of the virus, and enforced the requirement of the COVID-19 vaccine among federal employees regardless of conservative resistance.
Following the announcement of his retirement, with the approval of the Governor-General Mary Simon, Canadian parliament was suspended, meaning that no new laws or bills can be passed, and that any in the process of being reviewed will be axed. This was done by Trudeau in order to give the house what he calls a “reset,” while also buying time for the Liberal Party to choose his replacement.
Most recently, following the delay of President Trump’s proposed Tariffs, the Conservative Party has called for Parliament to return in order to deal with the situation, which Trudeau has attempted to combat by implementing his own tariffs on American products. Additionally, Trudeau commented on Trump’s comments in which he claimed that he aimed to annex Canada and claimed that Trump’s threats are absolutely real.