Liberals look for a new prime minister as Trump threatens tariffs and an election looms

Federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation after facing an increasing loss of support both within his party and in the country.

Now Trudeau’s Liberal Party must find a new leader while dealing with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to impose steep tariffs on Canadian goods and with Canada’s election just months away.

Trudeau said Monday he plans to stay on as prime minister until a new party leader is chosen.

He could not recover after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, long one of his most powerful and loyal ministers, resigned from the Cabinet last month.

Trudeau, the 53-year-old scion of Pierre Trudeau, one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers, became deeply unpopular with voters over a range of issues, including the soaring cost of food and housing as well as surging immigration.

What’s next for Canada?

A new Canadian leader is unlikely to be named before Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada. Trump keeps calling Canada the 51st state and has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods if the government does not stem what Trump calls a flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S. — even though far fewer of them cross the border from Canada than from Mexico, which Trump has also threatened with tariffs.

Trump also remains preoccupied with the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, erroneously calling it a subsidy. Canada’s ambassador to Washington, Kirsten Hillman, has said the U.S. had a $75 billion trade deficit with Canada last year. But she noted that a third of what Canada sells to the U.S. are energy exports and that there is a deficit when oil prices are high.

If Trump applies tariffs, a trade war looms. Canada has vowed to retaliate.

When will there be a new prime minister?

The Liberals need to elect a new leader before Parliament resumes March 24 because all three opposition parties say they will bring down the Liberal government in a no-confidence vote at the first opportunity, which would trigger an election. The new leader might not be prime minister for long.

A spring election would very likely favor the opposing Conservative Party.

Who will be the next prime minister?

It’s not often that central bank governors get compared to rock stars. But Mark Carney, the former head of the Bank of Canada, was considered just that in 2012 when he was named the first foreigner to serve as governor of the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694. The appointment of a Canadian won bipartisan praise in Britain after Canada recovered faster than many other countries from the 2008 financial crisis. He gained a reputation along the way as a tough regulator.

Few people in the world have Carney’s qualifications. He is a highly educated economist with Wall Street experience who is widely credited with helping Canada dodge the worst of the 2008 global economic crisis and helping the U.K. manage Brexit. Carney has long been interested in entering politics and becoming prime minister but lacks political experience.

Freeland is also a front-runner. Trudeau told Freeland last month he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister but that she could remain deputy prime minister and the point person for U.S.-Canada relations. ROB GILLIES, TORONTO, MDT/AP