Dear Commons Community,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada is stepping down as Liberal Party leader, according to an official familiar with his plans who was not authorized to discuss them publicly. Mr. Trudeau is expected to speak soon in Ottawa.  As reported by several news media.

His resignation would set off a succession battle to replace him after roughly a decade at the helm of both the party and the country. A resignation as party leader would not mean that Mr. Trudeau immediately steps down as prime minister; he would remain in the role until he is replaced as the head of the Liberal Party, and his successor would then assume the position.

The party could pick a new leader with a grass-roots process that could take several weeks or come via a vote of parliamentary deputies.

Trudea’s resignation comes as the country is grappling with how best to deal with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pledge to impose crippling tariffs on all imports from Canada on his first day in office. Canada and the United States are each other’s biggest trading partners.

Mr. Trudeau visited Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago in late November and his government has been in talks to address the president-elect’s concerns about border security, in hopes that he will reconsider his tariff threat.

Mr. Trudeau has faced weeks of mounting pressure from inside his party’s ranks. In December, Mr. Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, abruptly stepped down in a stinging rebuke of his leadership and stewardship of the country, inciting a growing chorus of voices from Liberal parliamentarians asking him to step aside for the sake of the party, and let someone else lead the Liberal Party against the Conservatives in general elections.

Trudeau has become an institution in Canada after ten years of leading the country!

Tony

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