Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation as leader of the Liberal party.
He will remain the prime minister until a new leader is chosen.
CTV News is carrying his announcement live. Follow along for updates through the day.
1:10 p.m. EST: ‘Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State’: Trump
President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned,” he wrote.
Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as the United States’ 51st state, and to Trudeau as its governor, since the Canadian delegation attended a meeting in Mar-a-lago at the end of November. At the time, Canadian officials chalked up Trump’s comments to teasing, though the president-elect has not let up.
“If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!” wrote Trump.
12:25 p.m. EST: Chrystia Freeland thanks the PM
Chrystia Freeland, the former deputy prime minster and finance minister, wished Trudeau and his family well and thanked him for his “years of service” to the country in a brief post on X.
Freeland, who remains an MP, ignited a firestorm in December when she resigned from cabinet just hours before she was set to table an important update on the country’s finances.
In a letter published that morning, she cited political differences: “You and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada,” she wrote, addressing the prime minister.
Her resignation left the party scrambling to find a procedural path to table the Fall Economic Statement, which revealed a deficit nearly $22 billion above the guardrail Freeland put in place for her own government earlier last year.
She is also among the top contenders to assume Trudeau’s position at the head of the party.
File: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seen in the House of Commons beside former-deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld . The Canadian Press)
12:10 p.m. EST: Singh responds
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh posted a written statement responding to Trudeau’s resignation.
“Justin Trudeau has let you down, over and over,” reads the brief statement published on X.
He accused the Liberals of contributing to the cost of housing, groceries and added they failed on “fixing health care.”
“They don’t deserve another chance,” the statement continues, before looking ahead to the upcoming election, expected to occur sometime this year. “If you oppose callous Conservative cuts, if you oppose the rich getting richer while everyone else falls further behind – stand with the NDP this time.”
11:55 a.m. EST: Poilievre responds
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre released a video statement lambasting the “leaderless Liberals” for Trudeau’s departure during an election year.
He accused the Liberal government of contributing to an “out-of-control housing emergency, an out-of-control migrant crisis,” and criticized its “$62-billion deficit” revealed in the Fall Economic Statement tabled in December.
“Their only objection is that he’s no longer popular enough to win an election and keep them in power,” he said.
He also re-emphasized his opposition to the federal carbon tax – a staple of the Liberal government’s strategy to fight climate change. Poilievre has made “axe the tax” a recurring party slogan.
During his resignation speech, Trudeau criticized Poilievre’s policy plans, accusing him of preparing to end his government’s climate endeavours.
“Stopping the fight against climate change doesn’t make sense,” he said.
11:30 a.m. EST: A means to end a ‘paralyzed’ Parliament
Trudeau said it’s “time for the temperature to come down” in Parliament, which he said has been “paralyzed” by “obstruction, and filibuster and a total lack of productivity.”
Trudeau is referring to, in part, a standstill in the House of Commons over a set of unredacted documents related to spending on green technology.
“We are, right now, the longest serving minority government in history,” he said, adding his move away from Liberal leadership will allow for a “fresh start.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau departs after making an announcement in Ottawa on Monday, Jan.6, 2025. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press)
11:10 a.m. EST: Trudeau stepping down from party leadership
In an at-times teary address, Justin Trudeau said he will step down from the helm of the Liberal party.
“Last night, during dinner, I shared with my children the decision that I am sharing with you all today,” he said on the steps of his official residence.
“I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces his resignation as Liberal leader and prime minister outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday, Jan.6, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)
10:40 a.m. EST: Grey skies over Rideau Cottage
When Trudeau speaks, he will answer only two questions in English, and two questions in French.
More than two dozen national reporters are gathered at the steps outside the front door of his official residence, where he once held lengthy daily conferences during the peak of the pandemic.
10:30 a.m. EST: Liberal MP weighs in
Liberal MP Wayne Long — who penned an open letter to Trudeau late last month calling for his resignation — said in an interview with CTV News’ Colton Praill he’s not celebrating today’s news, but that it’s what he and other caucus members have been working toward.
Long also led the caucus charge for Trudeau to reconsider his leadership in October. He said Monday the group has continued to push for the long-time Liberal leader to step down.
He said it’s time for new leader with new ideas, and a fresh way of looking at things, specifically noting it may be time to reconsider the deeply unpopular carbon tax.
10:20 a.m. EST: PM didn’t have enough ‘truth tellers’
“He stayed too long and I don’t think he had enough truth tellers around him,” Graham Richardson, Managing Director Edelman Public Affairs, told CTV News Senior Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos.
“It’s not 2015. It hasn’t been 2015 for a long time,” he said, referencing the election year Trudeau’s Liberals achieved a sweeping victory against Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.
Looking back at the near-decade since, he said the entire Liberal party ought to channel lyrics to the hit Talking Heads song “Psycho Killer.”
“My God,” said Richardson. “How did we get here?”
10:15 a.m. Trudeau has prorogued before
Requesting prorogation is presumably to give his party time to run an expedited leadership race without facing the prospect of falling on a confidence vote.
The House of Commons was scheduled to resume on Jan. 27, at which point the Conservatives were angling to advance a non-confidence motion within days, as the NDP indicated last month they were ready to vote to bring down the Liberal minority in the new year.
Prorogation, if approved, would end the current parliamentary session and kill all legislative business that hasn’t passed. This decision is believed to be connected to legal advice Trudeau’s advisers received around how long the government could go without approving spending.
This is not the first time Trudeau has taken the massive procedural step of seeking prorogation.
Trudeau did so for his first time in 2020, amid the WE Charity scandal and then-finance minister Bill Morneau’s departure, after vowing when first elected to not use “prorogation to avoid difficult political circumstances,” as the Liberals accused former prime minister Stephen Harper of doing.
9:35 a.m. EST: One notable thing to watch for in Trudeau’s announcement
Scott Reid, CTV News political commentator, told CTV News Channel that he thinks it’s notable Trudeau will be taking questions “because we’ve had such a long period of silence since Chrystia Freeland stepped down as finance minister and deputy prime minister.”
9:30 a.m. EST: All eyes on Rideau
A morning news release from the Press Gallery Secretariat advised journalists to be at 1 Sussex Drive in Ottawa by 10 a.m.
A senior government source told CTV News that Trudeau will then tell reporters he intends to stay on as prime minister until a new leader is selected.
The source also said that Trudeau met with the governor general this morning and asked to prorogue Parliament until March 24.
With files from CTV’s Rachel Aiello, Luca Caruso-Moro, Spencer Van Dyk, and Christl Dabu.