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'My jaw is dropped': Canadian official's interview stuns Amanpour

What happens next for Canada?



After weeks of mounting pressure to step down, Justin Trudeau has announced he will resign as Canada's prime minister and as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
The resignation brings a long political chapter to an end. Trudeau has been in office since 2015, when he brought the Liberals back to power from the political wilderness.
Trudeau said he will remain at the helm until a new Liberal leader is selected. But many questions remain for the party, including who will take over and how they will manage a looming federal election. So what happens next?

What is a prorogued Parliament?
Addressing Canadians on Monday, Trudeau said the country's governor general had accepted his request to prorogue Parliament - essentially a suspension that will stop all proceedings, including debates and votes, without dissolving parliament. While a routine part of parliamentary procedure, it is sometimes used by governments to buy time during a political crisis. Parliament was most recently prorogued by Trudeau in August 2020, when his government was facing an ethics scandal over its handling of a contract with a charity. This latest prorogation will freeze parliament until 24 March.

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Canada's Justin Trudeau cites 'internal battles' as he ends nine-year run






Under growing pressure from his own party, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will step down and end his nine-year stretch as leader.
Trudeau said he would stay on in office until his Liberal Party can choose a new leader, and that parliament would be prorogued - or suspended - until 24 March.
"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," he said during a press conference Monday.

Trudeau's personal unpopularity with Canadians had become an increasing drag on his party's fortunes in advance of federal elections later this year.
"Last night, over dinner, I told my kids about the decision that I'm sharing with you today," he told the news conference in Ottawa.
"I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process," he said.
The president of the Liberal Party, Sachit Mehra, said a meeting of the party's board of directors would be held this week to begin the process of selecting a new leader.

Who might replace Trudeau as Liberal Party leader?

Why the Trudeau era has come to an end now

What happens next for Canada?

In a statement, he added: "Liberals across the country are immensely grateful to Justin Trudeau for more than a decade of leadership to our Party and the country."
"As Prime Minister, his vision delivered transformational progress for Canadians," he said, citing programmes his government has implemented like the Canada Child Benefit and the establishment of dental care and pharmacare coverage for some medication.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said "nothing has changed" following Trudeau's resignation. "Every Liberal MP and Leadership contender supported EVERYTHING Trudeau did for 9 years, and now they want to trick voters by swapping in another Liberal face to keep ripping off Canadians for another 4 years, just like Justin," Poilievre wrote on X. Trudeau, 53, had faced growing calls to quit from inside his Liberal Party, which ramped up in December when deputy prime minister and long-time ally Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned. In a public resignation letter, Freeland cited US President-elect Donald Trump's threats of tariffs on Canadian goods, and accused Trudeau of not doing enough to address the "grave challenge" posed by Trump's proposals. Trump has promised to impose a tax of 25% on imported Canadian goods - which economists have warned would significantly hurt Canada's economy - unless the country takes steps to increase security on its shared border.

Trudeau said Monday that he had hoped Freeland would have continued as deputy prime minister, "but she chose otherwise". Canada has since announced that it will implement sweeping new security measures along the country's US border in response to the threat. In an online post, Trump claimed that pressure over tariffs led to Trudeau's resignation and repeated his jibe that Canada should become "the 51st State". "If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them," he wrote.

Since 2019, the Liberal Party has governed as a minority party. Following Freeland's resignation, Trudeau lost the backing of parties that had previously helped keep the Liberals in power - the left-leaning New Democrats, who had a support agreement with the Liberals, and the Quebec nationalist party, Bloc Quebecois. The largest opposition party, the Conservatives, have maintained a significant two-digit lead over the Liberals in polls for months - suggesting that if a general election were held today, the Liberals could be in for a significant defeat. Liberals will now choose a new leader to take the party into the next election, which must be held on or before 20 October. A senior government official told the BBC that the race is an open contest, and that the Prime Minister's Office will fully stay out of the process, leaving it to Liberal Party members to decide their future. Speaking to reporters, the Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet suggested that an early election be called once the Liberals choose their new leader.

End of the Trudeau era
Trudeau is the son of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who dominated the country's politics in the 1970s and '80s. The younger Trudeau became prime minister after the Liberal Party won a sweeping majority in 2015 amid a promise to usher in a new, progressive era of "Sunny Ways". His record includes a commitment to gender equality in his cabinet, which continues to be 50% women; progress on reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada; bringing in a national carbon tax; implementing a tax-free child benefit for families; and legalising recreational cannabis. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak praised Trudeau's track record on indigenous issues following his resignation, saying in a statement that he "has taken meaningful steps to address issues that matter to First Nations".

"While much work remains, these actions have laid a foundation for future governments to build upon." Clouds began to hang over Trudeau's government in recent years, which weathered a series of often self-inflicted scandals, including a controversy over a deal with a Canadian firm facing corruption charges and photos that emerged of the prime minister wearing brownface makeup prior to his time in politics. Vaccine mandates and other restrictions were also met with fierce backlash by some Canadians, leading to the Freedom Convoy truck protests in early 2022. Trudeau eventually used unprecedented emergency powers to remove the protesters.

As Canada began to emerge from the pandemic, housing and food prices skyrocketed, and his government pulled back on ambitious immigration targets as public services began to show strain. By late 2024, Trudeau's approval rating was at its lowest - just 22% of Canadians saying they thought he was doing a good job, according to one polling tracker. In Ottawa, a small group of protestors danced outside Parliament Hill in celebration of his resignation. One passer-by, however, said he thinks things were fine under Trudeau's watch. "I'm a carpenter," Hames Gamarra, who is from British Columbia, told the BBC. "I mind my own business, I get my wages, I pay the bills. It's been OK." Another Canadian, Marise Cassivi, said it feels like the end of an era. Asked if she feels any hints of sadness, she replied: "No." "It's the right thing."

The Liberals are about to choose the next prime minister. What happens next?

OTTAWA — The Liberals will choose a new leader Sunday, marking the end of Justin Trudeau's decade as prime minister.
He will step down officially in the days to come. On Tuesday, Trudeau said he will have a conversation with the incoming leader to determine exactly when that will happen.

"It should happen reasonably quickly, but there's a lot of things to do in a transition like this, particularly in this complicated time in the world," Trudeau said.
Here's a look at what comes next.

The handover
First, Trudeau needs to formally resign as prime minister. He'll meet with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and, on his advice, Simon will invite the new Liberal leader to form a government. That could happen right away, said David Zussman, an adjunct professor in the school of public administration at the University of Victoria who has written a book about political transitions. Or it could take days, or weeks.
"Justin Trudeau could, in fact, be sitting in his seat in the House of Commons when the House comes back at the end of March," he said.
But that seems unlikely. On Thursday, Trudeau insisted he does not plan to stay on in a caretaker role during the next election.

The new leader is likely to want to get started soon, Zussman said.

Forming a government
The new leader needs to name a cabinet and set a date to swear them in.
Trudeau's cabinet has 37 members. Some ministers could stay on, or there could be new faces around the table from the Liberal caucus.
Michael Wernick, the former clerk of the privy council, said the new leader has "what the hockey coaches call a short bench" because so many Liberal MPs have decided not to run in the next election.

He suggested a smaller cabinet is likely, with some ministers carrying more than one portfolio.
Zussman said keeping some of the same ministers makes things simple for the public service.
New ministers need to be vetted and set up with things like security and secure phones, drivers and cars.
And everyone has to get up to speed on their files — quickly — because an election is coming in the next six months.

Naming a team
Another team needs to be named quickly: the Prime Minister's Office staff and key advisers.
New people coming into top staff jobs need security clearances and briefings to get up to speed.
And at least part of the new leader's inner circle will have to have eyes on the next election, which the leader could call at any point once the cabinet is named.

The Trump effect
Cabinet ministers like Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty have been leading Canada's push to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that tariffs are a terrible idea.
The new leader has to decide whether it's prudent to keep some of these key players in their roles and maintain the contacts they've made with counterparts across the border, or whether it's better to show they're not — as the Conservatives have charged — "just like Justin."

Trump's ever-changing trade policy and foreign policy make this "the most unique set of circumstances I've ever observed," Zussman said.
That will affect the next leader's cabinet choices and the timing of the next election.

Could Parliament come back?
When Trudeau announced his plans to resign in January, he prorogued Parliament until March 24.
The fall sitting of the House of Commons that ended in December was dominated by a Conservative filibuster that prevented almost all House business from getting done.

The Opposition launched a number of attempts to oust the minority Liberals with non-confidence motions, and the government pushed through only a few pieces of legislation with the help of the NDP.
Returning to the House of Commons to deliver a throne speech and deal with issues of supply would mean the new Liberal government would face confidence votes right away.

The new leader inherits a minority government with no supply-and-confidence deal and an opposition that's eager to boot the Liberals out.
The Conservatives want the Liberals to reopen Parliament to debate the response to Trump's tariffs. But the Tories are not promising to hold off on an election if that happens.

When he was asked on Feb. 5 if forcing an election now would be a responsible choice, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it's "the only responsible course of action." The New Democrats, however, have said they are willing to work with the Liberals in a limited way. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he wants legislation passed to support Canadian workers affected by tariffs and "an election is secondary to that."
The NDP and Liberals together hold enough seats to pass legislation and defeat motions of non-confidence, but the NDP would want to see specific measures.

Wernick said the new prime minister could work out a deal with other parties to get some things done in a short sitting before heading into an election, but "that requires a level of maturity" beyond what we've seen in recent months. "We can go very quickly into an election right after the swearing-in of a new cabinet," Zussman said. "That may be a strategic advantage (for the new leader)."

Going to the polls
An election call could come before March 24.
That means all parties need to nominate candidates in 343 ridings. The Liberals, at last count, had about 160 people nominated.
The campaign will last between 37 and 51 days, with the vote landing on a Monday.

"The parties will be enormously distracted during an election campaign," Zussman said.
"However, it seems to me that we're going to be negotiating non-stop for as long as Trump is in power. He keeps changing the rules every day, so I don't know when a good time is."

It's important to note that Canada will still have a government that can respond to tariffs and talk to the Trump administration during an election. The cabinet stays in place in caretaker mode, though it's unable to pass new laws. "I think a lot of Canadians think that somehow when Parliament is prorogued, we have no government, or when we have an election we have no government," Wernick said. "There's no break in Canadian government."

A brief history lesson
The last time we had a handover of prime ministers within the same party was in 2003, when Paul Martin won the Liberal leadership race.
Martin had resigned as Jean Chrétien's finance minister in 2002 after a series of disagreements between the two. Chrétien announced his plans to resign in 2003 and the Liberals chose Martin as their new leader in November that year. Chrétien prorogued Parliament until Jan. 12, 2004 to allow for a transition.

On Dec. 12, 2003, Martin was officially appointed prime minister and sworn into office, along with his cabinet. The next federal election was held in June 2004 and Martin's Liberals won a minority government. Wernick said the transition between former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper and Trudeau took 16 calendar days. Canadian transitions are relatively brisk, he said, especially compared to other countries. In the U.S., elections happen in early November and the inauguration is in late January. Germany, whose government was defeated in December, will have a new government in place in late April.

Donald Trump's golf course targeted by pro-Palestine protesters


                 
Pictures from Turnberry, in Scotland, show sweary insults sprayed across the plush estate where buildings have been covered in red paint.

Multiple holes are believed to have been dug up by protest group Palestine Action, while 'Gaza is not 4sale' was sprayed in white across a green.
Expletive-laden insults are also shown to be sprayed across tarmac areas of the plush golf course. Speaking on social media, the group said: 'Whilst Trump attempts to treat Gaza as his property, he should know his own property is within reach.'

Multiple holes are believed to have been dug up by protest group Palestine Action, where the gates have been daubed in paint

Trump's Kennedy Center Pushes Back On Idea of Politically Motivated Show Cancellations


The Kennedy Center is pushing back against what it calls "misinformation" about show cancellations under its new leadership.
In social media posts, the organization, which has been overhauled by the Trump administration, said recent show cancellations have either been due to "lack of sales or artist availability" rather than any political or programming changes. The statement came from Roma Daravi, who is listed as the Kennedy Center's vice president of public relations and formerly worked as Trump's deputy director of strategic communication.

"In the spirit of transparency and due to the litany of misinformation being spread in the press, it is important to give the public a complete account of program cancellations over the last 6 months. In fact, the only shows under the Kennedy Center programming umbrella that we have cancelled since February 12 were due to lack of sales or artist availability," the statement reads. The statement comes shortly after Hamilton said it would no longer play the Kennedy Center next season, with the producer citing the firings of the Kennedy Center president and the chairman of the board, as well as the cancellation of programming at the center, as reasons to call off the 2026 engagement.

In February, Trump became chairman of the institution and ousted Democratic members of the Kennedy Center board. The contract of Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter was terminated, as was that of chairman David M. Rubenstein, after Trump had previously said he would fire the latter and install himself as chair. Ric Grenell, Trump's former ambassador to Germany, has been named interim executive director and has said his goal is to "make art great again."

In the Kennedy Center statement, shows including "An Evening With Issa Rae," "Blacks in Wax" and "Lowcut Connie," which were all meant to take place in March, are listed as being cancelled by the artists. Rae had posted on social media that she was cancelling the show "due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums."

"NSO: A Peacock Among Pigeons," a symphony concert which was meant to celebrate LGBTQ+ artists, is listed as being canceled due to financial reasons, as is a two-week run of the Broadway play Eureka Day, a comedy about vaccine skepticism among parents at a liberal California school. A spokesperson for Eureka Day confirmed that producers canceled the Kennedy Center engagement due to "financial circumstances."

In total, more than 20 shows have been canceled at the Kennedy Center since Trump was named chair Feb. 12. 
Additionally a number of high-profile members have parted ways with the institution, including Shonda Rhimes, Ben Folds and Renée Fleming.

Trump’s 'contradictions' have gotten 'more brazen' — and that might be on purpose: analysis


President Donald Trump has a variety of contradictions.
Trump is calling the for the death penalty for cop killers, yet after returning to the White House, he pardoned rioters who violently attacked police officers on January 6, 2021. Trump detests language policing from the left, yet he banned an Associated Press (AP) reporter from White House press events for not using "Gulf of America" instead of "Gulf of Mexico."

READ MORE:Inside the countless words banned by the Trump administration
In an article published on March 8, the New York Times' Erica L. Green notes that Trump's "contradictions have become more brazen and more pronounced." But according to some interviewees, those contradictions are a tactic on Trump's part. Julian E. Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton University in New Jersey, told the Times, "He says so much, you can't really pin him down.

The point isn't to have a contradiction, the point is to have cover. The reality of our modern information world is that you can pick and choose what you want to believe; he instinctively knows that." Green points out that Tony Schwartz, ghostwriter of Trump's 1987 book "The Art of the Deal," once said of the president, "His aim is never accuracy. It's domination." Jason Stanley, a professor at Yale University in Connecticut, finds Trump's contradictions troubling.

READ MORE: Marjorie Taylor Greene supports infecting kids at measles 'parties' as outbreaks turn deadly
Stanley, known for his extensive writing on the use of propaganda, told the Times, "Once you undermine consistency, the shared sense of reality, you're undermining the basis of democracy. If there's no shared sense of reality, we can't collectively make decisions. So the only decision maker will be the disrupter in chief…. If you’re constantly contradicting yourself, you’re constantly lying.”

Trump breaks silence on calls to pardon George Floyd murderer

President Donald Trump said Friday that he wasn't aware of the effort to have him pardon Derek Chauvin, the white police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd. 'No I haven't even heard about it,' Trump answered Friday in the Oval Office. Floyd's May 2020 death at the hands of Chauvin cued widespread protests and propelled the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront of American politics.

Soccer-Trump says U.S. trade tensions with Mexico, Canada will make World Cup more exciting.

Political and economic tensions between the United States and its 2026 World Cup co-hosts Canada and Mexico will make the tournament more exciting, U.S. President Donald Trump said after signing an executive order to create a task force for the event.Speaking in the Oval Office alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Trump said the task force, which he will chair, would co-ordinate with federal agencies in planning, organising and executing the 48-team global soccer tournament.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration imposed across-the-board 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico before announcing on Thursday a one-month reprieve for both countries on goods compliant under a North American trade pact. When asked about the World Cup in light of the current trade tensions between the three nations, Trump said on Friday, "I think it's going to make it more exciting." "Tension is a good thing, it makes it much more exciting." The exemptions for the two largest U.S. trading partners, expire on April 2, when Trump has threatened to impose a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners. The World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The expanded tournament will feature 104 matches instead of the previous 64 games, including an additional knockout round.