New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian welcomes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to step down and believes it creates an opportunity to elect a government that focuses on regular folks.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday, Jan. 6 that he will resign as Liberal leader and prime minister as soon as a new party leader is chosen.
“I want to thank Mr. Trudeau for his service to the country. I think he has sacrificed a lot at the family level, and his family has as well, and that he deserves those thanks,” Julian told the Record. “I do believe his decision was the right one, because I think there are so many pressing issues that have not been resolved in this country.”
Julian’s believes Trudeau’s strength as prime minister was his willingness to work with the NDP on a number of things, including the dental care program and the Pharmacare program.
“These are all important initiatives. So, I think he has done some good things,” he said. “I think some of the biggest problems are the unkept promises.”
Julian said Trudeau has not take action to address the issue of fair taxes, so Canada continues to allow more than $30 billion a year to go into the overseas tax havens. He was also critical of what he considered to be ineffective climate change policies and electoral reform, noting Trudeau had promised the 2015 election would be the final first-past-the-post election federal election in Canada.
“In so many ways, he fell short of what the moment really requires from a prime minister. I don't doubt his dedication, and I do thank him for his service,” he said. “But I do believe it's time for a change. And in the next in the next few months, people across the country will be called upon to elect a new government.”
Trudeau met with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Monday morning, and she agreed to his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24. His decision came after growing pressure from his caucus to resign and plummeting support in the polls.
Recently released public opinion data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute showed the Liberal Party’s support among decided and leaning voters was down to 16 per cent – the lowest level of support for the party in Angus Reid Institute tracking dating back to 2014.
“It is also quite possibly the lowest vote intention the Liberals have ever received in the modern era,” said a Dec. 30 news release from Angus Reid Institute. “Even in the worst electoral performance in the party’s 157-year history, the 2011 election under then leader Michael Ignatieff, the Liberals received 18.9 per cent of votes from Canadians, and at minimum 17 per cent in polling leading up to that election.”
According to the institute, 46 per cent of Canadians and 59 per cent of current Liberal supporters who were polled said it was time for Trudeau to step aside and call for a party leadership contest. Of those surveyed, 38 per cent of Canadians said Trudeau should call for a general election when he returned from his holiday break.
Although the House of Commons had been scheduled to return on Jan. 27, Trudeau’s announcement means that won’t happen. Instead, the Liberal Party will embark on a process to select a new leader who will lead the party in the next election.
Under the Canada Elections Act, the next federal election must be held on or before Oct. 20, 2025.
Julian expects Canadians will head to the polls for a federal election this spring.
“At the end of March, Parliament will reconvene, and I expect we'll be moving immediately into an election campaign at that time,” he said. “As I say, I think Mr. Trudeau made the right decision and I thank him for his work, but it's time that we had a government for working people, a government that actually cares about regular people. We've had decades of governments that have really put the focus on billionaires and the very wealthy, and it's time that regular people really were the priority of the government.”
Leaders’ statements
Federal leaders issued statements on Monday after Trudeau announced his decision to step down as prime minister and leader of the federal Liberal Party after a new leader is chosen.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said “nothing has changed” with Trudeau’s decision to step down.
“Every Liberal MP and leadership contender supported everything Trudeau did for nine years, and now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another four years, just like Justin,” he said on X. “The only way to fix what Liberals broke is a carbon tax election to elect common sense Conservatives who will bring home Canada's promise.”
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said Trudeau has let Canadians down over and over again.
“He let you down on the cost of housing and groceries. He let you down on fixing health care. It doesn’t matter who leads the Liberals. They don’t deserve another chance,” he said. “Conservatives are jumping at the opportunity to take from you and give more to CEOs. You will pay the price of Poilievre’s cuts. If you oppose callous Conservative cuts; if you oppose the rich getting richer while everyone else falls further behind – stand with the NDP this time.”
Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada, said Trudeau had “finally admitted the inescapable conclusion” that he had to step aside and make room for new leadership. She said his decline in support has been “painful to watch, like a slow-motion train wreck.”
In her statement, May reflected on Trudeau’s foray into politics following the May 2011 federal election, at which time the Liberals won only 34 seats and were relegated to third-party status in Canada.
May said Trudeau was not groomed to fill his father’s shoes and he did not seek out in a future in politics as a young man; instead, he became a teacher.
“I know he struggled with the decision of whether to run for Liberal leader, weighing how it might impact his personal life,” she wrote. “He was being recruited as someone who could rescue the Liberals.”
Please read my statement on Prime Minister Trudeau's announcement this morning. pic.twitter.com/G3vG3wabCl
— Elizabeth May (@ElizabethMay) January 6, 2025
May said she is saddened and angry about broken Liberal promises, but those are better addressed in the 2025 election.
“Today, I want to thank Justin Trudeau for his service to his country and wish him and his family much happiness and peace in the years ahead.”
