It's been both rumoured and expected, but prime minister Justin Trudeau finally announced his resignation on Monday morning at a press conference in Ottawa. It ended weeks of speculation about his political future.

SA国际影视传媒淚 intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its new leader,SA国际影视传媒� he told reporters.

Governor-General Mary Simon also granted Trudeau's request to prorogue, or suspend, parliament until March 24 while a new leader is chosen. That means all business in the House of Commons won't happen until then.

Trudeau has been prime minister since leading the Liberals to a majority government in 2015. The Liberals won another majority in 2019, but returned with a minority government in 2021.

For some, the news might not come as much of shock, such as Dennis Bevington, who was the territory's MP from 2006 to 2015.

Prior to Trudeau announcing his resignation, Bevington told SA国际影视传媒 the Liberal Party's unpopularity gives it a chance to reconsider its leadership. but that chance has been disappearing. 

"I don't think it would hurt the Liberal Party to get a new leader, they're simply dropping so quickly now under Trudeau that it could be a real wipeout," he said. "This is the problem with image and ego politics that has dominated the (Liberal) party."

Image and ego politics, Bevington explained, is when someone's image of themselves, and their ego, blinds them to seeing when it's time to step down.

"You have to know when your time is up and Justin Trudeau has missed that opportunity for his own party," he said.

When asked if the NDP needs to do the same with its leadership, Bevington said that's not in the cards, citing its leadership review that happens every convention.

Bevington also said his party is doing fairly well, pointing to its recent poll numbers indicating more than 20 per cent support nationally and that many Liberal voters have deserted to the Conservatives.

"In western Canada, I would see that the Liberal vote is going to collapse even more and likely what's left of the Liberal vote will head towards the NDP," Bevington said. "So I think it's going to be a two-way battle right up to the Manitoba border."

With what looks to be a blue wave coming over Canada following the next federal election, Bevington said Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre's government will look similar to the previous Stephen Harper government.

The big difference, Bevington said, is Poilievre will have to work along side U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

"That's going to a very difficult thing for him," he said. "In a way, he probably supports many of the things that are going to go on in the United States, but he's going to get a lot of pressure to stand up for Canada. I think those things are going to make for a very interesting time if he succeeds in getting majority, which looks possible. But remember, anything can happen in an election campaign."

SA国际影视传媒 reached out to other former MPs, Ethel Blondin-Andrew and Dave Nickerson, for comment on the state of the Liberal party, prior to Trudeau's resignation. Both declined to comment.

The next federal election must happen on or before Oct. 20.