Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a news conference this morning at Rideau Cottage, and there it is expected he will tell the country he’s resigning as Liberal leader, according to a senior government source.
The senior source confirmed to CTV News that Trudeau will declare his intention to stay on as prime minister until a new leader is chosen, and that Trudeau met with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon this morning, where he asked for the prorogation of Parliament until March 24.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Trudeau “will be making an announcement and answering questions from the media this morning at 10:45 a.m.”
This comes as CTV News has confirmed that staffers in the PMO met Monday morning to discuss Trudeau’s political future.
Two sources told CTV News that they expected the prime minister and his Chief of Staff Katie Telford to convey to the broader team in that meeting that that they did not see a path forward for Trudeau’s continued leadership, in the absence of support from the Liberal caucus.
A majority of the Ontario, Atlantic, Quebec and B.C. caucuses determined over the Christmas break that they want Trudeau to step aside, and a national, daylong caucus to discuss that fact and next steps has been set for Wednesday.
In the mid-week meeting – set to be his first with the full Liberal caucus since telling them he’d be reflecting on his next steps over the holidays – it was expected Trudeau would be confronted with calls to resign, as many MPs have becoming increasingly concerned about the party’s popularity heading into the 2025 federal election with him as leader.
MPs being briefed on party leadership rules: sources
In anticipation that Trudeau would have to publicly address the escalating pressure he’s facing early in the new year, Liberal supporters have already started contemplating the party’s leadership rules, as well as the kinds of preparations needed for a potentially expedited race.
Two sources tell CTV News that Liberal MPs have been invited to a special two-hour virtual briefing Monday afternoon on the party’s constitution and caucus’ role in leadership issues.
According to the Liberal Party of Canada’s constitution, “upon the occurrence of a leadership trigger event,” or if the leader announces their resignation, a meeting of the national board of directors must be called within 27 days.
Then, in consultation with caucus the board could appoint an interim leader. The top party officials would also be required to set a date for a leadership vote as well as other parameters around the race.
Trudeau has been the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada since 2013, and prime minister since 2015.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
With files from CTV News Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos and Mike Le Couteur