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Trudeau announces he won’t run in upcoming federal polls

Jan 16, 2025 02:25 PM IST

The media interaction came after a meeting between Trudeau and the premiers of Canada’s provinces, aimed at crafting a common strategy to deal with the incoming Administration of US President-elect Donald Trump

Toronto: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not contest the next federal elections, which are scheduled for October this year but may occur earlier.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a meeting with provincial and territorial leaders in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Wednesday. (REUTERS)
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a meeting with provincial and territorial leaders in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Wednesday. (REUTERS)

During the course of a press conference in Ottawa , on Wednesday, Trudeau said, “In terms of my own decisions, I will not be running in the upcoming election.”

The media interaction came after a meeting between Trudeau and the premiers of Canada’s provinces, aimed at crafting a common strategy to deal with the incoming Administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Trudeau expressed uncertainty as to what his post-political life will be, as he said, “As to what I might be doing later, I honestly haven’t had much time to think about that at all, I am entirely focused on doing the job that Canadians elected me to do in an extraordinarily pivotal time right now.”

Trudeau was first elected from the riding (as constituencies are called in Canada) of Papineau in Quebec in 2008 and retained his place in the House of Commons easily in later elections, including in 2021 when he garnered 50.3 per cent of the vote.

On January 6, Trudeau announced his intent to resign as Prime Minister once a new leader of the ruling Liberal Party was elected. That leadership election process will conclude on March 9 and the winner will succeed Trudeau as PM.

Potential contestants have till January 23 to formally join the race. Among those who are expected to be the principal contenders are former Bank of Canada (and Bank of England) Governor Mark Carney and former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Carney is expected to announce his run on Thursday in Edmonton. Freeland could follow suit with an announcement by January 20.

Trudeau, who turned 53 on December 25, became the leader of the Liberal Party in April 2013. By the summer of 2015, his campaign to become Prime Minister gathered momentum and he swept into power on October 19 that year, as his party captured a comfortable majority of 184 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons.

However, he never managed another majority mandate in the elections in 2019 and 2021.

The Liberal have languished in polls in recent months, with support at about 20 per cent or even lower and trailing the opposition Conservative Party by nearly 25 per cent.

By the end 2024, Trudeau was facing an internal revolt, which burgeoned with the shock resignation of Freeland, who also held the Finance portfolio, on December 16. That spiraled into calls by nearly 100 of his MPs, including the caucuses from Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic region, seeking his early departure. That ultimately led to Trudeau announcing he was planning to leave his post and now, his intent to quit electoral politics.

Those who have formally said they will contest the leadership include Indo-Canadian MP Chandra Arya. However, several Cabinet Ministers, considered potential frontrunners, have said they will focus on their current responsibilities and refrain from running, including Mélanie Joly, Dominic LeBlanc, François-Philippe Champagne and Anita Anand, an Indo-Canadian.

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