Justin Trudeau has announced he will step down as Canadian prime minister after his successor is chosen, probably by the end of March. Trudeau says he is leaving because despite being “a fighter”, he cannot lead his party into the forthcoming election while facing internal party divisions. In sum, his caucus, his Liberal party and the country want him gone. So off he goes, perhaps better late than never. But despite his reasoning, his resignation remains difficult to understand.
Up until Christmas Trudeau had repeatedly said he was staying on, ready and eager to fight Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative party – who are up by more than 20 points in polls – in this year’s election. But calls for him to resign had been creeping into the public view, from former members of parliament, cabinet ministers and even current MPs.
