Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will not be running in the next election, and he hasn’t “had much time to think about” what he’ll do after he leaves politics.
“I am entirely focused on doing the job that Canadians elected me to do in an extraordinarily pivotal time right now,” Trudeau said. “The U.S. inauguration and the weeks that follow are something that are of deep, deep importance to Canadians, and we are entirely focused on that as a team.”
Trudeau made the comment during a press conference on Wednesday, following his first in-person meeting with Canada’s premiers in nearly two years.
He announced last week he was stepping down as Liberal leader and prime minister, after more than nine years in the country’s top job, and nearly 13 at the helm of his party.
Trudeau’s resignation came just weeks ahead of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The incoming commander-in-chief has threatened to implement punishing tariffs on all imports from Canada as soon as he’s back in the Oval Office.
Wednesday’s meeting between Trudeau and the premiers — plus Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. and some federal cabinet ministers — was convened specifically to hash out how the country should 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,” Trudeau said.
“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 to the credit of everyone around this table,” he added.
Trudeau was first elected as the MP for Papineau in 2008. He’s been leader of the Liberal party since 2013.
The race to replace him has not yet officially kicked off, but a handful of well-known Liberal faces and would-be contenders have started formally announcing whether they plan to run.
Those interested in throwing their hat in the ring must notify the party and make an initial payment toward the entry fee by Jan. 23, and the party’s new leader will be announced on March 9.
