Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will resign.
Trudeau said he would resign once his party had found a replacement.
He announced he asked for Parliament to be suspended until 24 March to allow for a new leader to be chosen.
Canada must hold an election by October, which Trudeau’s party – the Liberals – are expected to lose.
Justin Trudeau
Trudeau’s father Pierre was Prime Minister of Canada in the 1970s.
Justin’s public profile shifted after his eulogy at Pierre’s funeral was broadcast nationally in 2000.
He won a seat in Montréal at the 2008 election, and became leader of the centre-left Liberal party in 2013.
Trudeau led the Liberals to victory at the 2015 election and has held Government ever since.
Conflict
Trudeau had faced calls to resign from several Liberal MPs after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stepped down from Cabinet in late December.
Freeland resigned on the day she was meant to deliver the Government’s mid-year financial statement.
In a letter to Trudeau, Freeland said the two had been “at odds about the best path forward for Canada.”
Statement
In a speech outside his home in Ottawa, Trudeau said: “Despite the best efforts to work through it, parliament has been paralysed for months… That’s why… I advised the Governor-General that we need a new session of parliament.”
“This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles I cannot be the best option in that election.”
