Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will Resigning in the coming months after nine years in powerHe bowed to lawmakers who were upset by his Liberal Party’s miserable results in pre-election opinion polls.

Trudeau, the 53-year-old son of Pierre Trudeau, one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers, has become deeply unpopular with voters due to a range of issues, including rising food and housing costs, as well as growing immigration.

He also could not recover after the Minister of Finance Chrystia FreelandLong, one of his most powerful and loyal ministers, resigned from the Cabinet last month.

Trudeau said on Monday that he will remain in his position as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party until the party chooses a new leader to participate in the next election, which must be held by late October this year.

The Liberals need to elect a new leader before Parliament resumes on March 24 because the three opposition parties have said they plan to use a vote of no confidence against the Liberal Party at the first opportunity, which would trigger an election. The new leader may not remain prime minister for long.

Here’s a look at some politicians who could replace Trudeau.

Chrystia Freeland

Freeland, a member of Parliament for Toronto, is considered one of the first candidates to succeed Trudeau. She is seen as a reliable and stable alternative to Trudeau, and in opinion polls, was the best among Liberal politicians before the election.

Freeland is a former journalist, having worked at the Financial Times, the Globe and Mail and Thomson Reuters. She marked her transition from journalism to politics in 2013, winning a by-election in the University of Toronto-Rosedale as a Liberal candidate.

During her time as Canada’s finance minister—the first woman ever to hold that position—Freeland played a central role in negotiating the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Trudeau told Freeland last month that he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister, but she could remain deputy prime minister and an important figure in US-Canada relations.

An official close to Freeland told the Associated Press news agency that Freeland could not continue to serve as minister knowing that she no longer had Trudeau’s confidence. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, added that Freeland will speak with her colleagues this week and discuss next steps.

Among her reasons for stepping down, Freeland said she disagreed with Trudeau over how to respond to Trump’s threat of sanctions. 25 percent tariff On Canadian goods.

After her resignation, Trump described Freeland as “absolutely toxic” and “absolutely not a deal maker.”

Freeland, 56, is a member of the board of directors of the World Economic Forum, which has been the target of far-right conspiracy theories claiming that the World Economic Forum has nefarious goals of manipulating global politics.

She is also of Ukrainian descent and has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia – while Trump has indicated he wants the US to reconsider its approach to the war.

Mark Carney

An economist and banker who served as former governor of the Bank of Canada, advising the Liberal government on economic matters.

Carney, 59, rose to prominence in 2012 when he was chosen as the first foreigner to hold the position of Secretary of State. Governor of the Bank of England Since its founding in 1694. Kennedy’s appointment won bipartisan praise in the United Kingdom after Canada recovered faster than many other countries from the 2008 financial crisis. He gained a reputation along the way as a tough regulator.

Carney has high economic experience on Wall Street and is widely credited with helping Canada avoid the worst of the 2008 global economic crisis and helping the United Kingdom manage Brexit.

Carney has long been interested in entering politics and becoming prime minister, but he lacks political experience. Tradition holds that Carney, who is currently chairman of Brookfield Asset Management, would need to gain a seat in Parliament to take office if he wins the party leadership.

Dominique LeBlanc

Considered a close ally of Trudeau, LeBlanc was appointed finance minister following Freeland’s departure.

A Canadian politician and lawyer, he is also a Member of Parliament representing Beausejour in New Brunswick, a position he has held since 2000.

He served as Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard from 2016 to 2018, and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Northern Affairs and Domestic Trade from 2018 to 2019. Before serving as Finance Minister, he was Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs beginning in 2020.

LeBlanc, 57, recently joined the Prime Minister Dinner with Trump at Mar-a-LagoThe property of the US President-elect in Florida. LeBlanc’s office said in a statement before the trip that they would highlight “the negative impacts that a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods would have on both Canada and the United States.”

LeBlanc was Trudeau’s babysitter when he was a child, and praised the prime minister after announcing his resignation.

“Serving alongside you in the House of Commons and in your government has been the honour of a lifetime,” he told the X programme.

Melanie Jolie

Jolie, the current foreign minister, has been prominent on the international scene and will be tasked with dealing with issues related to Trump when he takes office.

Jolie, 45, has been a staunch supporter of Trudeau and also joined him during his trip to Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump.

Before becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jolie served as Minister of Canadian Heritage from 2015 to 2018; Minister of Tourism, Official Languages ​​and Francophonie from 2018 to 2019; Minister of Economic Development from 2019 to 2021.

In March 2024, Palestinian Canadians and Human Rights Lawyers Jolie was sued for exporting military equipment to IsraelWhich they claimed violated Canada’s obligations under domestic and international law.

The lawsuit asked a federal court to order the Canadian government to stop issuing export permits for military goods and technology destined for Israel. There have been no public updates on the case since it was filed.

François-Philippe Champagne

Champagne (54 years old) has been Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry since 2021. Before that, Champagne held several key ministerial positions. He was Minister of International Trade from 2017 to 2018; Minister for Infrastructure and Communities from 2018 to 2019; And Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2021.

In December, Champagne issued a warning to Trump that the proposed tariffs could spark a trade war between countries, which could benefit China.

“If you say no to Canada, you’re saying yes to China when it comes to strategic supply chains,” Champagne said on POLITICO Tech. “I don’t think this is what the American people want.”

Champagne noted during the podcast that the future of Canada and the United States is closely linked to the fact that they are among each other’s largest trading partners and share common goals.

Will the new leader help the Liberals avoid defeat?

Polls strongly suggest that the Liberals will lose the election, regardless of who their leader is. But the scale of the defeat could be diminished if Trudeau is not in power.

In the latest poll conducted by Canadian pollster Nanos, the Liberals trail the opposition Conservatives by 47 percent to 21 percent.

“Trudeau’s announcement may help the Liberals in the polls in the short term, and once a new leader is chosen, things could improve more at least for a little while, but it won’t be too difficult, because their numbers are so low right now.” “They are in the polls,” said Daniel Belland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

“Furthermore, since Trudeau waited so long to announce his resignation, this will leave little time for his successor and the party to prepare for a snap election,” Belland told the Associated Press.

Many analysts believe that conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will form the next government. Poilievre, who for many years was the party’s favorite attack dog, is a hard-line populist who has blamed Canada’s cost-of-living crisis on Trudeau.

The 45-year-old Poilievre is a career politician who attracted large crowds during his run to lead his party. He has promised to scrap the carbon tax and stop funding the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.