Trudeau steps down: White House praises 'stalwart friend'

"Prime Minister Trudeau has been a stalwart friend of the United States during his decade leading the Canadian government, we have worked closely together on the full range of issues," said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.

"The President is grateful for the prime minister's partnership with all of that and for his commitment to defending North America from the geopolitical threats of the 21st century," added Karine Jean-Pierre.

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that he will step down as party leader and thus cease to be Prime Minister. He will, however, continue to perform his duties until his successor is chosen.

For many weeks, the media had been reporting on alleged pressures on Trudeau from within his own party, related to, among other things, the declining poll ratings of the Liberals.

In mid-December last year, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unexpectedly resigned a few hours before presenting the budget situation to parliament. The reason for Freeland's resignation was a dispute with the Prime Minister over the future direction of economic policy. Freeland also revealed that the Prime Minister wanted to move her to another position, which she considered a lack of confidence.

Trudeau became the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2013, and two years later he led the Liberals to a victorious election and formed a majority government in 2015. Since the snap elections in 2021, the Liberals have formed a minority government with the support of the opposition New Democratic Party, which, however, withdrew from the agreement last year.