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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said on Monday that he would step down in the coming months, bowing to an angry electorate at a time of uncertain economic prospects and political infighting.<\/p>\n
The announcement, which came amid a gridlocked Parliament, left Canada in political flux just as the incoming Trump administration has vowed to impose punishing tariffs on Canadian imports.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time for a reset,\u201d Mr. Trudeau told reporters outside his residence on a frigid morning in Ottawa, the capital. Mr. Trudeau said that he had suspended Parliament until March 24 and that he would stay on as Liberal Party leader and prime minister until his replacement had been chosen through a nationwide party election.<\/p>\n
\u201cI truly feel that removing the contention around my own continued leadership is an opportunity to bring the temperature down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Mr. Trudeau, 53, who rose to power nearly a decade ago and quickly became seen as a progressive icon, is the latest leader in the West to be swept aside by a mood of anti-incumbency, a backlash against immigration and anger at the lingering effects of a spike in inflation during the coronavirus pandemic. Although inflation in Canada has receded to below 2 percent, unemployment remains high, at above 6 percent.<\/p>\n
General elections must be held by October, a timetable that Mr. Trudeau referred to on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trudeau has faced weeks of mounting pressure from inside his party\u2019s ranks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In December, Mr. Trudeau\u2019s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, abruptly stepped down<\/a>, issuing a stinging rebuke of his leadership and stewardship of the country. Ms. Freeland, who had been a close ally of the prime minister, accused Mr. Trudeau of having engaged in \u201ccostly political gimmicks\u201d and being ill-prepared to face the challenge posed by President-elect Donald J. Trump.<\/p>\n Her resignation incited a growing chorus of voices from Liberal parliamentarians asking him to step aside for the sake of the party, and let someone else lead the party in general elections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Trudeau also had been under pressure from a resurgent Conservative Party, which in recent surveys has drawn a commanding double-digit lead over the Liberal Party. The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, posted a video<\/a> on social media on Monday promoting an alternate vision of governing: \u201cax the tax,\u201d referring to Trudeau\u2019s unpopular carbon tax<\/a>, \u201cbuild the homes,\u201d \u201cfix the budget\u201d and \u201cstop the crime.\u201d<\/p>\n The upheaval comes as Canada is debating how best to deal with Mr. Trump\u2019s pledge to impose tariffs that would upend a trade agreement among Canada, the United States and Mexico. (Mr. Trump has also threatened tariffs on Mexico and says he wants both countries to address the flow of drugs and undocumented migrants into the United States).<\/p>\n Tariffs would be potentially ruinous for Canada\u2019s economy, which is heavily dependent on exports, particularly of oil and automobiles. The United States and Canada are each other\u2019s biggest trading partners.<\/p>\n Mr. Trudeau visited Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, in late November, and his government had been in talks to address the president-elect\u2019s concerns about border security in hopes that he would reconsider his tariff threat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The talks do not appear to have been fruitful. In early December, Mr. Trump mocked Mr. Trudeau in a social media post, describing the Canadian prime minister as \u201cGovernor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n On Monday Mr. Trump responded to Mr. Trudeau\u2019s resignation by again suggesting that Canada should become America\u2019s \u201c51st state,\u201d saying on social media that if Canada merged with the U.S., taxes would decrease and there would be no tariffs.<\/p>\n