Trudeau resignation draws fire, plus some praise

Updated on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at 3 p.m. ET

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout — whose New Democratic Party propped up Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government for three years — wasn’t available for comment Monday after the prime minister announced he will step down.

Her only statement was on social media, which did not mention Trudeau, specifically.

“With the announcement of prorogation until the end of March, my focus as always, will be to amplify the Nunavut voice and ensure the house is educated about the importance of investing in Nunavut. I will keep fighting for Nunavummiut,” she said.

However, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh accused Trudeau and the governing Liberals of failing Canadians.

“They let you down on home prices. They let you down on health care. They let you down by allowing corporate greed to run wild,” Singh said in a statement.

After weeks of speculation, Trudeau announced his resignation as Liberal leader Monday, adding he will stay on as prime minister until the party chooses a new leader.

During the same announcement outside his Ottawa residence, Trudeau said Gov. Gen. Mary Simon approved his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24, ending its current session.

Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier P.J. Akeeagok and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk celebrate after signing the Nunavut devolution agreement in Iqaluit in January 2024. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier)

In September, the NDP announced the end of its agreement to support the government in return for the Liberals acting on some NDP priorities.

Since then, Trudeau’s government has faced several non-confidence motions in Parliament. From within his own caucus, there were growing calls for him to step down.

Those calls grew louder after Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister and deputy prime minister, resigned from cabinet on Dec. 16 hours before she was to deliver the government’s fall economic update.

There was no word from the Liberal party on Monday on how its next leader will be chosen. The next federal election must be held on or before Oct. 20, according to Canadian election law.

While Parliament is shut down, legislative activity is paused and committee work halts, said Eric Head, spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

“The prorogation of Parliament pauses legislative activity, but it doesn’t stop our commitment to important work like the Nutrition North review, which will continue as planned,” he said.

Bloc Québécois MP Sylvie Bérubé, whose riding includes Nunavik, said in an email that Trudeau “made the right decision, but [it is] far too late.”

Bérubé said “prorogation is not the best solution, but it remains the lesser evil in the current context of political fragility in the provinces and Canada.

“We must go to the polls as soon as the opportunity arises to firmly defend the interests of Quebec and the communities in my constituency.”

In a statement, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the move by Trudeau “changes nothing.”

Poilievre charged that any potential next leader of the Liberal Party has played a role in “[breaking] the country over the last nine years.”

He criticized Liberals for supporting what he called the “inflationary carbon tax.” He also took a swing at potential Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney, saying the former Bank of Canada governor supported the carbon tax.

Poilievre also criticized Trudeau’s shutdown of Parliament.

“The Liberals know how wrong this all is, that’s exactly why they shut down Parliament and paralyze government, all to save their own skins.”

Premier P.J. Akeeagok noted Trudeau’s role a year ago in the signing of the Nunavut Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement, which handed the territory control over much of its federal lands and resources.

“We also partnered to put in place the $10 a day daycare fees, which Nunavut was the first jurisdiction to implement,” Akeeagok said.

“Prime Minister Trudeau was always at home in the North and demonstrated a commitment to deepening relations with Inuit.”

Trudeau, 53, was elected Liberal Party leader in 2013. Under him the party was elected to form a majority government in 2015, and then re-elected to lead minority governments in 2019 and 2021.

Correction: This article has been updated to correctly report that committee work stops when Parliament is prorogued.