What happens now that Trudeau is resigning as Canada's Prime Minister?

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down, sparking speculation on party leadership and upcoming election.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday (January 6, 2025) said he would step down in the coming months after nine years in power, bowing to legislators alarmed by his Liberal Party's miserable pre-election polling numbers.

Mr. Trudeau said he would stay on both as prime minister and Liberal head until the party chooses a new leader to take it into the next election, which must be held by late October this year.

Here is what might happen next:

No. Mr.Trudeau will stay on both as Prime Minister and head of the ruling Liberal Party for now. Unlike the process in other countries like Australia, where party leaders are elected by legislators and can be removed overnight, in Canada they are chosen by special leadership conventions that can take months to organize.

No. Mr.Trudeau announced that parliament - which had been due to resume work on Jan. 27 - would instead be prorogued, or suspended, until March 24.

This means opposition parties who had originally planned to unveil non-confidence motions to bring his minority government down as soon as they could after Jan. 27 will now have to wait until some time in May since the government controls the agenda for most of each session. If all the opposition parties vote together on the motion, the Liberals will be defeated and a new election called.

As a result, a new election is unlikely to be held before May at the earliest.