(Bloomberg) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party this week, the Globe and Mail reported, citing people it didn’t name — a move that would trigger a race to replace him as Canada’s prime minister.
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Trudeau has been under pressure from elected lawmakers in his party to quit for months — and it increased further when Chrystia Freeland, his finance minister, stepped down on Dec. 16, saying she and the prime minister were at odds on policy.
Yet Trudeau’s decision about what to do next is being held very closely, said one person close to the prime minister. The Globe story did not say that Trudeau has firmly made up his mind to resign.
Liberal lawmakers are scheduled to hold a caucus meeting on Wednesday.
After the split with Freeland, some of Trudeau’s closest advisers held the view that the prime minister couldn’t survive the political fallout, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. More than 20 Liberal members of parliament have publicly called for Trudeau’s departure, and more have said in private meetings that the prime minister has no choice but to leave. The Liberals have 153 seats in the House of Commons, including Trudeau’s.
The Canadian currency strengthened as much as 0.4% to C$1.4388 per dollar after the reports, advancing for the first time in five sessions. The currency is trading near its weakest level since March 2020 and has lost more than 7% against the greenback in the past year.
The prime minister has largely disappeared from public view since Freeland posted her stinging resignation letter. Trudeau spent much of the holidays at a ski resort in western Canada and hasn’t spoken with reporters since returning to Ottawa.
If Trudeau, 53, does announce he intends to step down, it will kick off an intense debate over how to choose a successor. If the prime minister resigns immediately, the party would likely select an interim leader from within its elected caucus.
However, it is also possible Trudeau calls for an expedited leadership race and stays in office until the race is completed. But the timeline for doing so would be very tight, given the opposition parties in parliament have said they intend to trigger an election at the next opportunity. Parliamentary experts have said the government may only have until late March before it would face such a vote.
