The Prime Minister of Canada, Mr Justin Trudeau, has resigned as the country’s ruling Liberal Party leader amid growing discontent in the North American country.
Mr Trudeau’s exit comes amid intensified political headwinds after his finance minister and closest political ally abruptly quit last month.
Mr Trudeau, who said he would remain in office until a new party leader is chosen, has faced growing calls from within his party to step down.
Polls show the Liberals are set to lose this year’s election to the Conservative opposition.
“As you all know, I’m a fighter,” Mr Trudeau said on Monday, but “it has become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election,” he stated.
His exit comes as Canada faces tariff threats from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump.
The Republican and his allies have repeatedly taunted Mr Trudeau in recent weeks, with Mr Trump mocking Canada as the “51st state” of the US.
Mr Trudeau also lamented that the Conservative leader, Mr Pierre Poilievre, is not the right vision for Canadians.
“Stopping the fight against climate change doesn’t make sense,” he tells reporters, adding that “attacking journalists” is “not what Canadians need in this moment”.
“We need an ambitious, optimistic view of the future, and Pierre Poilievre is not offering that.”
Mr Trudeau also said he was looking forward to the fight as progressives “stand up” for a vision for a better country “despite the tremendous pressures around the world to think smaller”.
He also clarified that he won’t be calling an election, saying the Canadian parliament has been “seized by obstruction, filibustering and a total lack of productivity” for the past several months.
“It’s time for a reset,” he said, adding that, “It’s time for the temperature to come down, for the people to have a fresh start in parliament, to be able to navigate through these complex times.”