On Monday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made shockwaves throughout the country and within the Liberal party as he announced his intent to step down as leader of the party for the upcoming federal election and his role as Prime Minister as soon as the party selects a new leader.
Trudeau said it’s become clear that he is no longer the right option to lead the country and party.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau told reporters on Monday.
“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.”
Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen says the writing was on the wall and the announcement didn’t come as a shock to him, with the expectation that Trudeau would step aside building over the last several months.
Gerretsen has worked as an MP alongside Trudeau for the better part of a decade, and he believes this transition has more to do with the country and party simply needing a new voice than it is an indictment on Trudeau himself.
He says in speaking with constituents, the general feedback on programs introduced by the Trudeau government is positive, but it seems people are just ready for a new voice at the top.
“Look at the preceding leader, Stephen Harper was almost the exact same amount of time,” Gerretsen said.
“I think it’s human nature for people after a while to want to turn the page… at the end of the day he [Trudeau] just came to the conclusion that passing the baton was probably the best thing to do in terms of preserving the work that we did and you know, you’ve got to admire when somebody comes to that conclusion.”
Gerretsen said he gives Trudeau a lot of credit for arriving at that conclusion, even if some are critical that it took too long, because he knows how important it is to the current Prime Minister to fight against Pierre Poilievre and try to preserve the work that he feels could be threatened by a Conservative federal government.
The Kingston MP says what the Liberals need now is someone who can take the fight to Poilievre in a more direct and confrontational way.
“I think what people are looking for now in a style of leader is an individual who knows how to meet the – for lack of better expression – bullies that people like Pierre Poilievre represent and to take them head-on,” Gerretsen said.
“I would argue that that is the same kind of messaging an individual that will resonate well with taking on Donald Trump as he continues to threaten Canada in the ways that he’s been doing it lately.”
Gerretsen said his pick for the job would be recently appointed Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc, however Leblanc said this week that he won’t be running for the role, as did Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.
Candidates for the leadership have until January 23 to declare, and will have to pay a $350,000 entry fee to enter the race.
Names like Chrystia Freeland, Mark Carney, and Anita Ananda have been speculated as possible replacements.
Gerretsen says he believes the change in voice and messaging will be enough to keep the Liberals competitive in the upcoming election, and says despite projections showing the Liberal party as the third place choice for Kingston and the Islands that he thinks he can retain his seat in the riding.
“We’ve seen about six or seven hundred people in the Kingston area sign up as Liberals just in the last three days, so that’s extremely encouraging because what it means is that people are motivated by this and people want to be part of that process of selecting,” Gerretsen said.
“The Liberal Party of Kingston does real polling in Kingston where we call people and talk…  the results that we get are not anywhere near the results that you’re seeing on 338.com.”
The party is expected to officially announce its new leader on March 9, with Parliament being prorogued until March 24.
