Justin Trudeau promised ‘sunny ways’ but could not fulfil his lofty ambitions

He swept into parliament at the helm of surprise majority,

promising change, hope and “sunny ways”

as he charmed Canadians and much of the world with a brand that sought to embrace feminism, welcome refugees and reset Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples.

Nearly 10 years later, however, Justin Trudeau’s political career has come to a halt, with the 53-year-old on Monday announcing his decision to step down.

“Last night over dinner, I told my kids about the decision I’m sharing with you today,” he said, adding that while he was a “fighter” he saw no path forward. “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.”

Trudeau said he would remain as prime minister until a new leader is chosen. He also made the decisions to request a prorogation of parliament, buying his ailing Liberal party precious months to avoid disaster when an election is called.

In the end, Trudeau’s boyish charisma was not enough to reassure Canadians facing enormous jumps in housing prices, rocketing groceries inflation and the prospect of huge tariffs imposed by the country’s main trading partner, the US.

The decision capped off a stunning, years-long turn of fortune for Trudeau, a former high school teacher and the eldest son of Pierre Trudeau, one of Canada’s best-known prime ministers. For months he had fended off calls to resign, insisting he would stay on even as a

swelling chorus

of his own party members urged him to go and after Chrystia Freeland, one of his most powerful and loyal ministers,

delivered a scathing blow

as she announced her own resignation.

The swirling questions over Trudeau’s resignation sharpened after Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic party (NDP), recently

vowed

to present a parliamentary motion to topple Trudeau’s government.

The long, drawn-out end was a sharp contrast to his meteoric rise; in 2015, after catapulting his party from third in the polls to a first-place finish, he

became the country’s prime minister,

making headlines around the world as he ushered in the country’s

first gender-balanced cabinet

with the pithy line: “Because it’s 2015.”

As media requests for the young leader poured in from around the world, Canadians

appeared to embrace

his habit of snapping selfies with supporters and revel in his global star power, highlighted during the 2016 G7 summit in Japan, where

he was nicknamed

“ikemen shusho”, or hunky PM, by local media and swooning fans who lined up for a glimpse of him.

Just shy of a decade on, his popularity had plunged among Canadians. “I think part of it is that he stayed too long,” said Lori Turnbull, a professor of political science at Dalhousie University, pointing to those who opposed his pandemic-era restrictions, and affordability issues that had

steadily chipped away

at his popularity over the past two years. “He could have read the writing on the wall and walked away, but that is not the way he operates. He has his own vision.”

In his wake, Trudeau leaves a weakened Liberal party, with scant chances of success in the federal election expected by October.

“When he

took over the party

in 2013, they had 34 seats,” said Turnbull. “And he really built the party up in his own image. And now it’s not clear what would be left of the Liberal party and the Liberal brand without him.” Polls have consistently

suggested that

, were an election to be held today, the opposition Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, would win a majority.

The political drama has

dominated headlines

across Canada and beyond, offering a glimpse of a governing party in disarray as Canadians brace themselves for Donald Trump’s return to power. Last month the US president-elect announced plans to slap

a 25% tariff

on all products coming into the United States from Canada, sending the Canadian dollar tumbling as analysts warned that exports to the US

had climbed

to about 77% of the country’s total exports.

The fast-approaching possibility of an economic crisis comes as affordability already ranks

among the top concerns

of many across Canada. While most Canadians agreed with the direction the Trudeau-led government had taken when it came to issues such as equality and diversity, many felt that he had failed to deliver when it came to economic issues, said Nik Nanos of Nanos Research. “As the rising cost of living – especially the rising cost of housing – has gripped many Canadians, there’s a sense that the Liberals were flatfooted on this issue,” he said.

This clumsiness also extended to some of Trudeau’s most-vaunted promises, said Nanos. “Even on things like reconciliation, I think it would be fair to say that for many Indigenous peoples, Justin Trudeau said all the right things about reconciliation. But they don’t feel that there’s actually been a positive change in the day-to-day lives of Indigenous peoples in the last 10 years.”

When Trudeau first entered politics, his critics scrambled to define him, describing his teaching experience and stints working in youth advocacy and as a snowboard instructor as part of a CV that was “too thin” for a political leader. The criticisms seemingly failed to land, as many in the country

voted

to allow him the chance to write his own story.

Ten years later, everyone in the country had a strong opinion on Trudeau, said Nanos. “There are very few people who are undecided, or ambivalent, about Justin Trudeau.”

He was swift to note, however, that Poilievre, the conservative leader who has a double-digit poll lead over Trudeau, is just as polarising. “We’re in a world where all of the choices are polarising, but people are looking to punish someone,” said Nanos. “And Justin Trudeau, as the incumbent prime minister, is at the top of the list for a significant proportion of the population, because of their worries about paying for groceries, paying for housing and wondering about what’s happening on climate change and stuff like that.”

It’s a fate that has been echoed by embattled incumbents around the world, from Emmanuel Macron in France to Joe Biden in the US.

Trudeau left behind a mixed legacy; one dotted with progressive wins but which also fell short of the ambitious promises that fuelled his rise to power, said Semra Sevi, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto.

As prime minister, he oversaw landmark reforms such as the

legalisation of marijuana

and programmes

aimed at

bolstering childcare access and affordability. “However, many of his larger promises – especially around climate change, Indigenous reconciliation, and electoral reform – have been less successful,” Sevi said.

A series of scandals, from images that

appeared to show him

dressing up in blackface to the WE charity affair, in which Trudeau

was accused

of an improper financial relationship with the international development charity, further eroded trust in his leadership.

His tenure, however, had managed to transform Canada in some ways, she said, as his “sunny ways” and focus on inclusivity trickled down into government policy. “Trudeau helped make Canada more progressive in terms of gender equality, immigration, and social rights.”

His reassertion of Canada’s liberal identity was often played against Trump’s isolationist tendencies, thrusting Canada into the limelight when, for example, Trudeau

headed to an airport

to personally welcome Syrian refugees after Trump had signed off on his so-called Muslim ban.

The result – reinforced through stances such as his gender-balanced cabinet, the emphasis on LGBTQ+ rights, and his determination to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees – had helped to position Canada as more inclusive and globally minded, said Sevi.

“Early on, he was seen as a breath of fresh air in Canadian politics, bringing a youthful energy, progressive ideals, and a promise to modernise Canada’s political landscape,” she added.

Nearly 10 years and one drawn-out resignation later, the picture that had emerged was far more nuanced, she said. “His legacy, like his tenure, will likely be seen as a balance of progressive wins, alongside unfulfilled potential.”