Montreal, Canada – It happened in early January. But for many Canadians, Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he planned to resign as Canada’s prime minister already feels like a lifetime ago.
That’s because, in the weeks since, the country has been upended by a series of unprecedented shifts coming from south of the border.
Canada is facing the prospect of a prolonged trade war with the United States, and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex the country, fuelling widespread anger and uncertainty.
Now, as Trudeau is set to formally step down on Friday – clearing the way for new Liberal Party chief Mark Carney to take over as prime minister – experts say the outgoing leader’s handling of the recent upheaval will be remembered positively.
“He did a tremendous job on the way out,” said Charles-Etienne Beaudry, a political science professor at the University of Ottawa.
“He worked harder than ever to deal with the Trump tariff threats, to communicate to Canadians, to do strong speeches … [and] to organise the response,” Beaudry told Al Jazeera.
“And this will be remembered in his legacy as something great. It shows great character.”
Pressure to step down
Trudeau’s decision to resign came after months of pressure from within his own Liberal Party and growing public anger over his government’s record.
After nearly a decade in power, the prime minister had borne the brunt of Canadians’ frustrations with affordability and a deepening housing crisis, and his party’s poll numbers were at historic lows.
Liberal lawmakers were calling for him to step down to give them a better chance in the 2025 federal election, but Trudeau had largely rebuffed those calls, saying he planned to see the party through the next vote.
Trump’s tariff threats upped the pressure, however, as did the shock resignation of Trudeau’s longtime deputy, former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, in mid-December.
On January 6, Trudeau said he would step down once the Liberals chose their next leader.
“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 in his resignation speech from Ottawa.
Stewart Prest, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia, said the sense at that time was that Trudeau “had overstayed his welcome”.
“As with any politician, Trudeau had acquired a fair share of baggage over time and people had settled on blaming him for a number of things,” said Prest, adding there also was a feeling that the government had lost touch with Canadians.
“Trudeau was a beleaguered leader.”
Strong response
But that changed once he announced his plan to resign, Prest told Al Jazeera.
Suddenly unburdened from having to counter attacks from the Conservative opposition or withstand pressure from his own party, the prime minister became the face of Canada’s “polite but uncompromising resistance” to Trump, Prest explained.
“It seems that Trudeau found a new life and a new voice to speak on behalf of Canadians … and in defence of Canadians, in very uncompromising language but language that is still distinctly Canadian,” he said.
“He [was] able to stand up for what really matters rather than constantly worrying about the narrow political calculus of the day.”
Indeed, as Trump’s unprecedented attacks against Canada spurred anxiety, Trudeau stressed the need for Canadians to remain united.
In speech after speech, he pledged support for workers and businesses who will bear the brunt of US tariffs and promised strong countermeasures, including billions of dollars in retaliatory levies on American goods.
He also unequivocally rejected Trump’s push to make Canada into the 51st US state.
“I’m sure many of you are anxious,” Trudeau told Canadians in an address on February 1, just days before 25-percent US tariffs were first set to come into effect. “But I want you to know that we are all in this together.”
Beaudry at the University of Ottawa said that speech was one of many that positioned Trudeau as a “reassuring figure” at a pivotal moment for Canada. “A strong finish is important, and he knew it,” the professor said.
“He’s got some strength of character that not everybody has.”
Trudeau ‘at his best’
Meanwhile, Trudeau’s resignation – coupled with the threats from Trump and the Liberal leadership race – helped renew enthusiasm in his party.
The Liberals have bounced back in the polls and are now expected to be in a close fight against the Conservatives in the next election, which could happen as early as next month.
Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, a nonprofit polling and research group, said the Canada-US crisis ultimately played to Trudeau’s strengths.
She drew parallels to the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the prime minister was able to deliver a reassuring message to Canadians at a frightening and uncertain time.
“What we’ve seen from Trudeau in the last two months has been some of him at his best,” Kurl told Al Jazeera, adding that the outgoing prime minister is seen as someone who reacts well in a crisis. “That has to do again with the way he communicates to Canadians.”
Polls show a majority of people across Canada have welcomed his government’s response to the Trump administration as well.
An Angus Reid poll from early March, for example, showed that 66 percent of people supported a blanket 25-percent retaliatory levy on American goods.
And while Trudeau continues to have his detractors – and his nine years in government produced a mixed legacy overall – the experts said his final weeks as prime minister will be viewed favourably.
“At a moment of renewed national pride and patriotism and unity,” Kurl said, “he was seen to be meeting the moment.”
