Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is stepping down as Liberal leader just two weeks before Donald Trump takes office as US president as he threatens to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports on Day 1.
Trudeau said he will stay on as prime minister until his successor is chosen, raising the prospect of Canada having a lame duck head of government just as its biggest trading partner strikes exported with steep tariffs.
Trudeau's resignation leaves Canada and its economy vulnerable to whatever Trump plans to do, says Xavier Delgado, senior program fellow with the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington. DC
“It's a wonderful moment for the prime minister to announce his retirement,” Delgado said in an interview Monday with CBC News. “Within the context of the Canada-US relationship, it's not It really makes a lot of sense.”
Trump accepted Trudeau's resignation by mail Truth Social Platform.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States cannot suffer the huge trade deficits and subsidies that Canada has to stay away from. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resign,” Trump said in the post.
“If Canada were to join the US,” Trump continued, “there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go down, and they would be completely safe from the threat of Russian and Chinese ships that are always about tour them. Together, what a great country it would be!!! “…
Trudeau says he must 'stand up for Canadians'
Trudeau's decision to resign raises questions about how the government will handle any negotiations with the Trump administration.
“By announcing his resignation, Trudeau effectively becomes a lame duck prime minister,” Delgado said. “He doesn't really have a mandate, because people down here in Washington know he won't be around much longer.”
At his press conference outside Rideau Cottage, Trudeau was asked how the government can protect Canada from the threat of tariffs if key cabinet ministers are included in the leadership race.
“The government and cabinet will remain very focused on doing the work Canadians elected us to do in 2021, which is fighting for their interests, standing up for the well-being and ensuring that Canadians … are protected and strong. “, said Trudeau.
“I can assure you that the tools and the need to stand up for Canadians, to protect Canadians in their interests and continue to fight for the economy, is something that everyone in government will be on board with.” this is specifically aimed at.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Liberal government will remain 'single-mindedly focused' on protecting Canadian interests and continuing to 'fight for the economy' even as the party goes through a leadership race after Trudeau resigned. Trudeau made the comments when asked by a reporter how the Liberal government could protect Canada from US President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs if the Liberals targeted who would be the next party leader.
Trudeau did not directly answer a question about whether the Liberal leadership contenders would resign during the race.
Several key cabinet ministers working on the Canada-US file – including Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc – are considered leadership candidates.
The couple he traveled to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in late December to meet with two of the president's cabinet picks and brief them on Ottawa's plan to improve border security, which Trump has asked if Canada hopes to avoid crushing tariffs.
Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Justin Trudeau's main goal before he retires is to create a plan to avoid Donald Trump's tariff threat.
Trudeau's resignation “couldn't have come at a worse time for US-Canada relations,” said Laura Dawson, executive director of the Future Border Coalition, a group of business leaders in the two countries.
“The government is in this care mode,” Dawson said in an interview with CBC News. “The relationship (with the US) cannot be put on hold like that.”
Dawson says she's not sure if Trudeau's resignation puts Trump in a stronger negotiating position on tariffs, but says it means Canada no longer has the ability to deal quickly and quickly to any new issues that Trump raises.
“Who's driving this bus?” she asked. “There is no leadership.”
In addition to announcing that he is stepping down as Liberal leader and prime minister once a new leader is elected, Justin Trudeau says he has asked the Governor General of Parliament be promoted to March 24. the next
