Canada's Trudeau to resign as prime minister after nine years, blames party infighting

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said he would step down in the coming months after nine years in power, bowing to pressure from lawmakers alarmed by his Liberal Party's miserable showing in pre-election polls.

A subdued Trudeau, among the most prominent progressive leaders in the world, told a press conference that he would stay on both as prime minister and Liberal leader until the party chooses a new chief within months.

"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 said.

He also announced parliament would be prorogued, or suspended, until March 24.

That means an election is unlikely before May at the earliest, so Trudeau will remain in charge - at least initially - of dealing with the threat of crippling tariffs once U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

The next election must be held by Oct. 20 and polls show voters angry over high prices and a shortage of affordable housing will elect the opposition Conservatives and hand the Liberals a resounding defeat, no matter who leads the party.

In recent weeks unhappy Liberal lawmakers openly called on Trudeau to quit after his finance minister resigned and accused him of "political gimmicks" to win back voters.

"I am not someone who backs away from a fight, particularly when a fight is as important as this one is," Trudeau told reporters outside his residence as temperatures dipped to minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).

"But I have always been driven by my love for Canada ... and it has become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election."

Reuters