Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation as Liberal Party leader amid increasing pressure to step down from within the party.

From a podium outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday, he added that he would also step down as prime minister once a new leader is selected.

“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process. Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process,” Trudeau said.

In announcing the decision, the prime minister made reference to the upcoming federal elections, which must be held before October 20 of this year.

“This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” Trudeau explained.

Trudeau, who has been in power for nine years, saw his popularity wane in recent months, with his government narrowly surviving a series of no-confidence votes and critics calling for his resignation.

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Pressure on the 53-year-old Trudeau further mounted after former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland quit in December, following a disagreement over how to respond to United States President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of imposing a 25-percent tariff on Canadian goods.

Days later, Trudeau announced a major reshuffle of his cabinet – changing one-third of his team in a bid to settle the political turmoil.

While several MPs of the governing Liberal Party publicly called on the prime minister to step down after Freeland’s resignation, many have continued to stand by Trudeau despite the mounting pressure.

Trudeau’s departure leaves the party without a permanent head at a time when polls suggest the Liberals will badly lose to the official opposition Conservatives in the federal elections.

Trudeau trails his main rival, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, by some 20 points in public opinion polls, amid a range of challenges facing Canada from a housing crisis to soaring costs of living.

Political legacy

Trudeau swept to power in 2015 and led the Liberals to two more ballot box victories – in 2019 and 2021.

Coming to politics after working as a snowboard instructor, bartender, bouncer and teacher, Trudeau was first elected in 2008 to the House of Commons to represent a working-class Montreal neighbourhood.

In his first two terms as prime minister, he brought in Senate reforms, signed a new trade deal with the US and introduced a carbon tax to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.

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The father of three also legalised cannabis, held a public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women, and passed legislation permitting medically assisted suicide.