Justin Trudeau set to resign as party leader, drop out of race for premiership – report

Facing a sinking approval rating and growing dissent within his own party, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly is poised to resign as Liberal Party chairman, effectively dropping out of this year’s race for premier.

By World Israel News Staff

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is poised to announce his resignation as leader of the ruling Liberal Party this week, multiple Canadian media outlets reported over the weekend.

According to sources cited by The Globe and Mail, Trudeau will likely make his formal announcement this week, sometime before a national caucus meeting this Wednesday.

While the sources said that no final decision had been made on such an announcement, it appears likely Trudeau will resign in the near future.

It is unclear whether Trudeau will stay on as premier to serve out the remainder of his term, or step down as prime minister immediately.

Trudeau has served as Canada’s head of government for nine years, through three federal elections, and is currently slated to remain in office through the next election, to be held no later than this October.

Once boasting an approval rating of 65%, Trudeau now faces widespread disapproval in the Canadian electorate, with an approval rating of just 16%, according to an Angus Reid Institute poll released last week.

“It represents the lowest level of support for the party in Angus Reid Institute tracking dating back to 2014. It is also quite possibly the lowest vote intention the Liberals have ever received in the modern era,” the pollster said in a press release.

Facing a general election sometime no later than October, the Liberal Party under Trudeau has seen its polling numbers sink, giving the Conservatives, under Pierre Poilievre, a significant lead.

Trudeau’s Liberal Party narrowly lost the popular vote to the Conservatives in 2021, while still winning a plurality of seats in Canada’s House of Commons.

Now, however, polls show the Conservatives receiving anywhere between 43% and 48% of the popular vote, while the latest Angus Reid poll gives the Liberals just 16%.

Amid his poor polling numbers, Trudeau now faces a coup from his own party, including widespread calls for his resignation and the surprise departure of deputy premier and finance chief Chrystia Freeland from the Trudeau government.

In a scathing letter, Freeland blasted Trudeau’s “political gimmicks.”