Canadian stocks briefly rallied on news that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resigned.
The Toronto Stock Exchange gained 0.1% before paring that increase and finishing the trading day down a slight 0.29% at 24,999.79, not far from the benchmark index’s all-time high.
The Canadian dollar rose 0.5% to 1.4373 against the U.S. greenback on news that Trudeau is stepping aside as Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader.
At a news conference, an emotional Trudeau said that he will officially step down as leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party once a new leader is selected in coming months.
He added that Canada’s Parliament will remain in recess until March while the Liberal Party selects its new leader.
Pressure had been mounting on Trudeau to step aside ahead of national elections that must be held by October of this year.
Trudeau suffered a blow in December when his Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, abruptly resigned, triggering a cabinet revolt and ratcheting up pressure on him to step aside.
Trudeau, age 53, has been Prime Minister of Canada since 2015.
He’s popularity across the country has waned in recent years, as has the Liberal Party’s standing among Canadians.
The latest Angus Reid poll from Dec. 30 found that Trudeau’s ruling Liberal government has the support of only 16% of decided voters in Canada.
The opposition Conservative Party currently has a 20 percentage point lead in the polls heading into the next election this autumn.
