image source, Getty Images
After weeks of mounting pressure to step down, Justin Trudeau announced that he will resign from his position as Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the country’s Liberal Party.
The resignation comes to the end of a long political chapter. Trudeau has remained in office since 2015, when he returned the Liberals to power after their absence from the political scene.
Trudeau said he will remain at the head of the party until a new Liberal leader is chosen.
However, many questions remain for the party, chief among them the question of who will take office, and how the impending federal election will be managed. What will happen next?
What is an adjourned parliament?
In his address to Canadians on Monday, Trudeau said the country’s Governor General has accepted his request to suspend Parliament — essentially a suspension that would halt all proceedings, which includes debates and votes, without dissolving Parliament.
Although it is a routine part of parliamentary procedures, governments sometimes resort to it to buy time during political crises.
Trudeau had recently suspended Parliament in August 2020, when his government was facing an ethics scandal over its handling of a huge contract it had concluded with a charitable foundation.
This latest suspension will freeze Parliament until March 24.
Who will lead the liberals?
In all likelihood, the Liberal bloc will try to find a new leader by the end of the extension period, although it is not yet clear how that leader will be chosen.
Choosing federal party leaders in Canada usually takes four or five months, a process that includes a formal meeting of party members to achieve this goal.
Trudeau said on Monday that the new leader will be chosen through a “robust, competitive, nationwide process.”
Liberal Party president Sachit Mehra said shortly after that the party would hold a national council meeting this week to choose a new leader.
So far, there is no clear successor to Trudeau, but the names of several prominent Liberals have been floated, including former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Transport Minister Anita Anand, and central bank governor Mark Carney.
When will the Canadian elections be held?
Canada’s next federal election must be held by October, but a vote is likely to take place before then.
The official opposition Conservative Party, which is far ahead in opinion polls, has been trying for months to hold the election through a series of no-confidence votes in the House of Commons.
The government needs the support of a majority of the 338 members of Parliament in a vote of no confidence. The Liberals need 17 seats to reach the required number, which means they need support from members of other parties in Canada.
So far, left-leaning New Democratic Party members have provided Trudeau with enough votes to keep him in control.
However, on Monday, after Trudeau announced he would step down, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh confirmed he would vote to bring down the Liberal Party, regardless of who the leader is.
“They don’t deserve another chance,” he said.
Whoever takes over the leadership of the Liberals on March 24 will not have much time to govern.
After the end of the extension period, the first vote of confidence will be. If confidence is withdrawn from the government, it is expected to resign or seek to dissolve Parliament, which will lead to federal elections.
Opinion polls suggest that if a Canadian election were held today, the official opposition Conservative Party would win decisively.
image source, Getty Images
Who is Pierre Poilievre?
Pierre Poilievre is the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
If the polls are any indication, they are that he is the favorite to be Canada’s next prime minister.
Since assuming the presidency of his party in 2022, Poilievre has been a strong opponent of the Prime Minister; Trudeau has repeatedly called for early elections.
Poilievre described himself as anti-elite, anti-Trudeau, and an ordinary man.
Poilievre was expelled from Parliament in April after refusing to apologize for calling Trudeau “crazy” and “extremist” during question time.
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