Canada PM Trudeau says he will step down after new Liberal party leader named

The Manila Times

Canada PM Trudeau says he will step down after new Liberal party leader named  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday (January 6) that he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberals after nine years in office but will stay on in his post until the party chooses a replacement.   Trudeau, under heavy pressure from Liberal legislators to quit amid polls showing the party will be crushed at the next election, said at a news conference that parliament would be suspended until March 24.   That means an election is unlikely to be held before May and Trudeau will still be prime minister when US President-elect Donald Trump — who has threatened tariffs that would cripple Canada's economy — takes office on Jan. 20.   Trudeau, 53, took office in November 2015 and won reelection twice, becoming one of Canada's longest-serving prime ministers.   But his popularity started dipping two years ago amid public anger over high prices and a housing shortage, and his fortunes never recovered.    CBC/REUTERS  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net     Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews #justintrudeau  #canada

Transcript

00:00So I thought it might be fun for us to do this again.

00:15I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next

00:22leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process.

00:29Last night, I asked the President of the Liberal Party to begin that process.

00:35This country deserves a real choice in the next election.

00:39And it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot

00:45be the best option in that election.

00:51As you all know, I am a fighter.

01:01And I am not someone who backs away from a fight, particularly when a fight is as important

01:05as this one is.

01:09But I have always been driven by my love for Canada, by my desire to serve Canadians, and

01:16by what is in the best interests of Canadians.

01:19And Canadians deserve a real choice in the next election.

01:24And it has become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry

01:32the liberal standard into the next election.

01:37And Canadians deserve a real choice in the next election.

01:41And it has become obvious to me.

01:44If I have one regret, particularly as we approach this election – well, there are probably

01:48many regrets that I will think of – but I do wish that we'd been able to change

01:55the way we elect our governments in this country so that people could simply choose a second

02:02choice or a third choice on the same ballot, so that parties would spend more time trying

02:07to be people's second or third choices, and people would have been looking for things

02:13they have in common instead of trying to polarize and divide Canadians against each other.

02:19I think in this time, figuring out how to pull together and find common ground remains

02:25something that is really important for democracies.

02:28But I could not change unilaterally without the support of other parties.

02:34Our electoral system, that wouldn't have been responsible.

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Transcript

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