TORONTO (AP) – Canada’s governing Liberal Party will announce the country’s next prime minister on March 9 after a leadership vote that follows the resignation of Justin Trudeau this week, party leaders said.
Trudeau remains prime minister until a new leader is chosen.
The front runners for the Liberal leadership are former central banker Mark Carney and ex-finance minster Chrystia Freeland, whose abrupt resignation last month forced Trudeau’s exit.
“After a robust and secure nation-wide process, the Liberal Party of Canada will choose a new leader on March 9, and be ready to fight and win the 2025 election,” President of the Liberal Party of Canada Sachit Mehra said in a statement.
The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada. United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump keeps calling Canada the 51st state and has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods.
The next Liberal leader could be the shortest-tenured prime minister in the country’s history. All three opposition parties have vowed to bring down the Liberals’ minority government in a no confidence vote after Parliament resumes on March 24.
Recent polls suggest the Liberals’ chances of winning the next election look slim. In the latest poll by Nanos, the Liberals trail the opposition Conservatives 45 per cent to 23 per cent.
Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday after facing an increasing loss of support both within his party and in the country.
The 53-year-old scion of Pierre Trudeau, one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers, became deeply unpopular with voters over a range of issues, including the soaring cost of food and housing as well as surging immigration.
Trudeau told Freeland last month he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister but that she could remain deputy prime minister and the point person for US-Canada relations.
Freeland resigned shortly after and released a scathing letter about the government that proved to be the last straw for the embattled leader.
