Amid pressure from his own Members of Parliament (MPs) and voices from the general public, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he will be stepping down once a new Liberal leader has been chosen.
One of only two elected Liberal MP's in Alberta, George Chahal of Calgary Skyview, had called for Trudeau’s resignation this past December.
He told the Airdrie City View on Monday he was surprised, like all Canadians, to hear Trudeau’s announcement today.
“Ultimately, he decided today was the day to bring that change for Canadians and I'm looking forward to the opportunity for the Liberal Party of Canada to bring forward a leadership race that helps re-energize and re-engage Canadians and attract leadership hopefuls who will come forward from across the country [with] new bold ideas and a new vision for our country moving forward,” Chahal said.
Despite asking for the change in leadership, Chahal said PM Justin Trudeau would be remembered as a great Canadian prime minister who brought forward change to the nation for the better, and set the country up on good footing to move forward.
“Canadians have asked for change,” he added, noting it was evident in recent by-elections, polling, as well as what constituents have been saying.
“I think the Prime Minister recognized that and did what was best for the country today.”
What’s important for the Liberal Party, Chahal said, is to continue the work to address the challenges that Canadians are facing today and build a plan for the future.
A new leadership plan must address how the Party plans to grow and strengthen the economy, he added, but also how it will deal with challenges coming up with Canada’s largest trading partners, not just the United States.
In a letter to his colleagues in December, he wrote that the Liberal leadership was not hearing Canadians and that many Liberals were ringing the fire alarm.
Given the events over the last year within the Liberal party, including Chrystia Freeland’s resignation as Finance Minister/Deputy Prime Minister, he wrote that any rational individual in a position of leadership would resign.
“Any group of individuals providing advice based on data and logic would reach the same conclusion,” he wrote at the time.
In the upcoming Liberal leadership campaign, he looks forward to supporting a candidate who best reflects what he believes is the best path forward for the country, he said.
He noted he’s excited to run again in his new riding of Calgary McKnight during the 2025 federal election.
“I'm excited to campaign and engage with my constituents and bring forward new ideas for the upcoming years ahead, and I think one thing about my constituents, they are very excited to engage and they're very open to expressing themselves and I enjoy the time I have in my constituency to hear from them so I can be their voice in Ottawa,” Chahal said.
This changes nothing, say Conservatives
Conservative MP of the Banff-Airdrie riding, Blake Richards, has long been calling for a change in government.
Despite today’s announcement, Richards wrote online that the Trudeau resignation changes nothing until the Liberals are defeated in the next election.
In the past, he has posted about the downfall of the Country as a result of Trudeau’s leadership.
“Under Justin Trudeau, food bank use has doubled, gun crime has doubled, and our national debt has doubled,” he stated on Facebook.
An election could be called as early as this spring, and Richards has made it clear his party is looking forward to getting rid of the current government.
While he didn’t provide comment to the Airdrie City View following the announcement, he has stated online that even without Trudeau, the Liberal party is still the same group running the country as before.
Richards has been confirmed as the Conservative candidate for the new Airdrie Cochrane federal riding that will come into effect in the next election.