Canada's Justin Trudeau says he'll resign as PM

Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau intends to resign as the head of the ruling Liberal Party, he said at a Jan. 6 news conference.

He intends to stay on until the general elections in October, and resign after a new leader is elected.

"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 according to CNBC.

The embattled PM added that parliament has been "entirely seized by obstruction and filibustering and a total lack of productivity" over recent months.

Trudeau has faced growing calls to quit from his own party, towards the end of his nine-year premiership.

This escalated last December after deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland resigned hours before she was due to deliver her annual fiscal update.

In her resignation letter, Freeland said that the two of them were "at odds about the best path forward for Canada" and criticised his "costly political gimmicks".

Trudeau subsequently lost the backing of parties that had helped to keep the Liberals in power, including the left-leaning New Democrats, and Quebec nationalist party Bloc Quebecois, reported BBC.

Meanwhile, polls show that the opposition Conservative Party has built a lead over the Liberals of more than 20 per cent, according to CNN.

What's next

The Canadian parliament will be prorogued, or suspended, until a confidence vote on Mar. 24.

Trudeau said that he asked the president of the Liberal Party, Sachit Mehra, to begin the process of selecting a new party leader the night before his announcement.

In a statement, Mehra said that he will call a meeting this week to begin the process.

"Liberals across the country are immensely grateful to Justin Trudeau for more than a decade of leadership to our Party and the country," he wrote.

"We thank him for his service to Canada, and we look forward to his continued leadership until a new leader is chosen."

Top image from Justin Trudeau/Facebook