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Canadian PM Justin Trudeau may quit within days, say media reports
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could announce his resignation within days, according to media reports.
He is considering stepping down as leader of the governing Liberal Party, which would also bring to an end his nine years as prime minister.
Last month his finance minister quit, citing policy disagreements such as how to deal with Donald Trump’s threat to levy US tariffs on Canadian goods.
Trudeau’s popularity has also plummeted among voters, with polls suggesting his party are on course for a general election defeat this year.
The Globe Mail reports that he could announce his intention to quit before he meets his party caucus on Wednesday, to avoid the perception that his own MPs forced him out.
Their sources said it was unclear whether Trudeau would leave immediately or stay on as prime minister until a new leader was selected.
And they stressed he had yet to make a final decision on his future.
Whoever takes over will have to lead the party through an election campaign while also navigating a possible trade war with the US.
The election must take place before October, but a change in leadership of the Liberal Party could increase calls for a snap vote in the coming months.
Trudeau’s departure would bring to an end a defining era in Canadian politics.
He unexpectedly swept his party to power in 2015, winning a campaign that began with them in third place.
The fresh-faced young leader, aged 43 back then, promised a new kind of politics centred on an open immigration policy, increased taxes on the wealthy and battling climate change.
But his first term was dogged by scandals. In more recent years, he had been battling sinking popularity as frustration grew with the cost of living and his own style of governing.
More than a dozen of his own MPs have called for him to step down, while polls suggest two-thirds of voters disapprove of him.
Just 26% of respondents in a September Ipsos said Trudeau was their top pick for prime minister, putting him 19 points behind Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
History is also not on Trudeau’s side, with only two prime ministers ever serving four consecutive terms.
Poilievre rose to the top of his party in 2022 on a promise to reduce taxes, tackle inflation and protect individual liberties.
The 45-year-old also rallied support behind the Freedom Convoy truckers protesting about Covid mandates – a blockade that brought Canadian cities including Ottawa to a standstill.
Canada’s next prime minister will have to address the threat of tariffs from incoming US President Donald Trump.
He has vowed to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods if the country does not secure its shared border to the flow of irregular migrants and illegal drugs.
The “grave challenge” this posed was referred to in the resignation letter of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who quit hours before she was due to deliver her annual budget.
She said Trudeau had informed her he no longer wanted her to be his government’s top economic adviser.
[BBC]
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, just over a week after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , in joint United States-Israeli strikes that have.plunged the entire region into a sprawling war.
The 56-year-old, who will now be charged with leading the Islamic Republic through the biggest crisis in its 47-year history, was named by clerics as his father’s successor on Sunday.
Key leaders, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the armed forces were quick to pledge their backing to the new leader.
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who has been tasked with steering Iran’s security strategy since the US and Israel launched their all-out offensive, called for unity around the new supreme leader.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf welcomed the choice, saying that following the new supreme leader was a “religious and national duty”.
Mojtaba Khamenei has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, but has for decades been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivating deep ties to the IRGC.
In recent years, Khamenei has increasingly been touted as a top potential replacement for his father. His selection could be a sign that more hardline factions in Iran’s establishment retain power, and could indicate that the government has little desire to agree to a deal or negotiations in the short term as the war enters its second week.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem described Khamenei as his “father’s gatekeeper”.
“He adopts the positions of his father with respect to the United States, with respect to Israel. So we are expecting a confrontational leader. We’re not expecting any moderation,” he said.
“However, if this war comes to an end and he is still alive, and he is able to continue running the country, there is going to be big potential… to find new routes for Iran,” Hashem said.
(Aljazeera)
Global oil prices have jumped above $100 (£75.11) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran has fuelled fears of prolonged disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader, signalling that a week into the conflict hardliners remain in charge of the country.
The US and Israel launched fresh waves of airstrikes across Iran over the weekend, hitting multiple targets including oil depots.
Major disruption to energy supplies from the region threatens to push up prices for consumers and businesses around the world.
Early on Monday in Asia, Brent crude was around 15.5% higher at $107.16, while Nymex light sweet was up by more than 17% at $106.77.
Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region fell sharply in early trading on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down by more than 5% and the ASX 200 in Australia more than 3.5% lower.
Many in the markets predicted that oil would hit the $100 a barrel mark this week.
In the event it took about a minute to jump 10%, and then another 15 minutes to rise a further 10% in early Asian trading.
Last week the markets had been relatively relaxed about the seeming nightmare scenario for millions of barrels of crude and liquefied natural gas trapped in the Gulf, unable or unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
But the escalations over the weekend, alongside scenes of destruction of energy infrastructure both in Iran and across the Gulf, saw the markets take rapid fright.
The question now is where does this go? Some analysts argue that if the shutdown in the strait lasts until the end of March, we could see record oil prices above $150 a barrel.
The existing rise is likely to further increase petrol prices, and those of important derivative products such as jet fuel and vital precursors for fertilisers.
The physical supplies from the Gulf are mainly consumed in Asia.
Already however there are signs that Asian consumers are bidding up prices for US gas, with some tankers originally heading for Europe turning around in the mid-Atlantic.
US President Donald Trump responded to the jump in prices by saying that short term rises were a “small price to pay” for removing Iran’s nuclear threat.
His energy secretary told US broadcasters on Sunday that Israel, not the US, was targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, amid some concern about rising domestic pump prices caused by the war.
(BBC)
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