Canada's Liberal Party will select its next leader on March 9 after Justin Trudeau’s resignation. The race sees Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland as front-runners amid political uncertainty.

C anadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is stepping down as the leader of the ruling Liberal Party, following months of pressure from partymates to resign amid increasingly poor public approval ratings.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to resign after calls increased for his ouster over his handling of economic policies.

By suspending Parliament and promising to resign, the prime minister bought the Liberals time. But Canada will now face Donald J. Trump with a lame duck in charge.

Justin Trudeau, who has led the country for nearly a decade, is giving up leadership of the Liberal party. He said he would remain in both roles until his replacement had been chosen through a party election.

Justin Trudeau's leadership has faced significant challenges in the wake of the COVID crisis, leading to a loss of confidence among Canadians from various backgrounds.

The front runners for the Liberal leadership are former central banker Mark Carney and ex-Finance Minster Chrystia Freeland, whose abrupt resignation last month forced Trudeau's exit.

Trudeau, who has been in power for the past nine years, said on Monday that he will step down from his post after a new leader is chosen by the Liberal Party.

He was tapped by the prime minister to chair a task force on economic growth last September, after being heavily courted to join the Liberal team. Carney was then rumoured to be joining Trudeau’s cabinet as finance minister, replacing Chrystia Freeland. But Freeland resigned, sparking a political crisis, and Carney did not end up in cabinet.

Former B.C. premier Christy Clark is no stranger to being an underdog and has experience uniting a fractured caucus.

Justin Trudeau says U.S. president-elect Donald Trump kicked the tires on the potential annexation of Canada during their recent meeting in Florida, but the topic was quickly dropped when the prime minister countered with a request for two states.