Justin Trudeau is reportedly planning to announce as early as Monday that he will resign as the leader of the Liberal Party in Canada.
Three sources told The Globe and Mail that the Canadian Prime Minister will confirm he is leaving his post before a key national caucus meeting on Wednesday.
Members of his party have been calling on the embattled leader to consider his future, confronting him at a meeting before Christmas following the shock resignation of Chrystia Freeland, the former deputy prime minister and his long-time ally, who had cited Donald Trump’s looming tariffs among her reasons for quitting.
Many of the 15 MPs who reportedly took the floor at the meeting criticised Mr Trudeau’s handling of the departure of Ms Freeland, according to CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster.
The Canadian prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
It remains unclear whether Mr Trudeau will leave immediately or stay on as prime minister until a new leader is selected.
Mr Trudeau swept to power in 2015 and led the Liberals to two more ballot box victories in 2019 and 2021.
But in this election year, he trails his main rival, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, by 20 points in public opinion polls.
His resignation is likely to spur fresh calls for a quick election to put in place a government able to deal with the administration of Mr Trump for the next four years.
The prime minister has discussed with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc – who recently met with Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida – whether he would be willing to step in as interim leader and prime minister, one source told the Globe and Mail. They added that this arrangement would be unworkable if Mr LeBlanc planned to run for the leadership.