Canada’s political ‘prince’ has bowed

Justin Trudeau made a promise in October 2015, standing on a stage in front of his supporters. “Sunny roads, my friends, sunny roads,” echoed the words of Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier a century ago.

The Liberal Party had a majority in the Canadian Parliament. PatienceThe son of one of the country’s greatest post-war leaders, he exuded a sense of progressive liberal optimism.

In the dark days of economic collapse and political turmoil, on Monday, He left the leadership of his own partyA move that would end his tenure as prime minister and draw the curtain on the latest Trudeau era in Canada.

Trudeau’s commitment to social causes, gender equality, indigenous rights and the fight against climate change has brought him international fame. Domestically, the story was different: years of political infighting, scandals and high living costs eroded Ag7’s credibility and ability to lead the country.

“Every bone in my body is always telling me to fight because I care deeply for Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Monday.

But Canadians’ view of Trudeau — who, like his father, himself served two terms as the country’s prime minister for more than a decade — has always been deeply mixed. He was praised by fans as a paragon Canada Progressive values, especially in the western part of the country, are reviled by conservatives.

In recent months, that skepticism has become the dominant view among most Canadian voters, telling pollsters that his leadership is coming to an end.

Trudeau, 53, stepped down from the political ring after months of pressure from his party to resign. On Monday, Governor General Mary Simon – King Charles’ representative in Canada – asked the party to suspend parliament until March 24 to elect a new leader.

“There will be a national leadership process in the coming weeks,” Trudeau said, noting who he would endorse as a successor.

Canadian pundits speculate that his one-time ally — former finance minister Chrystia Freeland — has delivered a scathing attack on Trudeau. She resigned. Last month he raised his political stake from the cabinet – he could be one of his replacements. Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, said late Monday that they are considering a run for the party leadership.

But any new leader’s first task is now likely to be to prevent the party from being wiped out in what looks like an election in the coming months, where the opposition Conservative Party is far ahead.

Without a clear succession plan in place and no date set for the next election, Canada will be plunged into political uncertainty as it grapples with a volatile neighbour.

Trudeau has tried to position himself as an experienced hand in the unexpected dealings with Donald Trump. Flying to Mar-a-Lago After the incoming president threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods in November.

But Trump’s threats have sparked panic in Ottawa and big export provinces like Alberta, and the president-elect has repeatedly mocked Canada’s prime minister online as the “governor” of America’s “51st state,” including after Monday’s resignation.

In addition to his own political problems, Trudeau’s resignation echoes the fate of other Western democracies, where soaring inflation and immigration fears in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic helped oust incumbents.

Samra Sevi, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said Trudeau’s domestic reputation has been undermined by opposition from low- and middle-income families to his pandemic policies and his mismanagement of immigration policies, which many voters believe has boosted housing affordability. Crisis.

The Liberal leader once touted Canada’s openness to immigrants and asylum seekers, inviting cameras as he greeted Syrian refugees at airports in 2015. In October, Trudeau pledged to crack down on immigration.

“Trudeau’s debut was largely built on his talent and progressive image. But, over the years, his reputation has been tarnished by his perceived hypocrisy,” Sevi said.

Trudeau’s progressive policies have helped fuel opposition at home. He promised major climate change action and the federal government imposed one of the western world’s most aggressive carbon taxes, angering conservatives in western Alberta, home to Canada’s lucrative oil industry.

To appease those opponents, the Trudeau government has backed — and funded — a massive oil pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast. But spending has risen and it has done little to end Trudeau’s relentless pursuit of regulations and environmental policies that Western states say are stifling economic prosperity.

There have also been controversies that have eroded public trust, such as Trudeau’s 2017 holiday on the private island of philanthropist and spiritual leader Agakan. In the year Allegations that he improperly interfered in a 2019 fraud investigation into Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin, Atkinsrellis has now undermined Trudeau’s moral authority.

In the end, Robert Asselin, a former economic adviser in the Trudeau government, said poor governance, economic underperformance and policy inconsistency led to his demise.

“Trudeau approached the prime ministership as a storyteller and communicator, often leaving people feeling that he was acting rather than governing,” Asselin said.

In the past 12 months, five ministers have resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet and his Liberal Party has lost three safe seats.

Then came the Freeland bombshell. Once seen as a personal friend of the prime minister, her shocking resignation letter last month accused the prime minister of being “expensive political idiots” for favors such as sales-tax holidays.

The rebuke has put a leader who has won three federal elections on the ropes. Within days, the Liberals’ parliamentary ally, the left-wing New Democratic Party, called on Trudeau to resign and said they would no longer support the government in parliament. The prime minister moved on Monday ahead of an imminent no-confidence vote that would topple his government and trigger a snap election.

Stephen Maher, author PrinceTrudeau’s autobiography, the leader’s political arc, speaks of the remarkable self-confidence but “presidentialism” of the Canadian prime minister’s role.

“Trudeau only has one gear. There are politicians who can invent, change and tell another story to extend their shelf life. Trudeau said, ‘Hey, I’m here, love me’ — and it worked for a decade,” Maher said.

An Angus Reid poll released on 30 December showed that 16 per cent of voters support his party, while the level of opposition is at 74 per cent.

The Liberal government seems more likely to be replaced – elections must be called this year – by a conservative party led by Pierre Poilievre, a far-right politician who polled far ahead of Trudeau and now has the backing of Trump ally Elon Musk.

It could mark a sharp shift in Canadian politics, moving the country from the camp of Western democracies to a new form of economic populism and anti-immigration.

Even so, Trudeau’s chief secretary from 2015-19, Gerald Boots, is remembered as the leader who resurrected his Liberal Party from the “political dustbin” after a decade of opposition.

“It was an amazing success,” he said. “The government will crush you, 10 years is a long time. He is not the first person whose optimism in power has been eroded by the government.