Battered, Justin Trudeau won’t contest next election, might quit politics

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, battered on all sides, has declared that he won’t be contesting the upcoming general election in Canada, and might quit politics. This is a surprise end of a career for Trudeau, who, a decade back, was celebrated as a young, energetic leader.

“In terms of my own decisions, I will not be running in the upcoming election,” Trudeau was quoted by Global News of Canada as saying on Wednesday.

Trudeau also said he hadn’t had much time to think about what he would do after leaving politics.

“As to what I might be doing later, I honestly haven’t had much time to think about that at all, I am entirely focused on doing the job that Canadians elected me to do in an extraordinarily pivotal time right now,” Trudeau said at the press conference.

Trudeau had recently announced that he would step down as the Prime Minister of Canada after his Liberal Party of Canada chooses a leader. The leader of the Liberal Party would go on to become the Prime Minister till the polls, likely in August, are conducted.

Trudeau would remain a Member of Parliament after stepping down as the PM for a few months till the elections are conducted. After his decision to not contest the election, Trudeau will cease to be an MP in the new Parliament.

The unceremonious stepping down and end of his political run comes as Trudeau and the Liberal Party under him have become highly unpopular in Canada. The country’s ties with the US and India too have soured.

Polls show Pierre Poilievre and his Conservative Party having a big lead over Trudeau’s party in the election that is likely to be held in August 2025.

Canadians believe that the Trudeau government has failed them on a host of issues, including immigration, inflation, employment and housing.

Trudeau discussed his exit from the elections in a press conference on January 15.

He also met Canada’s premiers and Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. and some of the federal cabinet ministers. This was done to discuss how Canada would respond to Trump’s tariff threats.

“I do want to say that (Saskatchewan Premier) Scott (Moe) and (Ontario Premier) Doug (Ford), and a number of the folks who’ve been around a while have been extraordinarily invaluable in these conversations, in this Team Canada approach,” said Trudeau.

“There’s always a lot of politics going on around this country, but to know when to step up in the Canadian national interest, and to know that that’s what Canadians want to see, is really to the credit of everyone around this table,” he added.