Justin Trudeau to resign ahead of key meeting this week: reports

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce as early as Monday that he will resign as Liberal Party Leader, The Globe and Mail reported on Sunday, citing three sources.


The sources told the Globe and Mail that they don't know definitely when Trudeau will announce his plans to leave but said they expect it will happen before a key national caucus meeting on Wednesday.


The Canadian prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.


It remains unclear whether Trudeau will leave immediately or stay on as prime minister until a new leader is selected, the report added.


Trudeau took over as Liberal leader in 2013 when the party was in deep trouble and had been reduced to third place in the House of Commons for the first time.


Trudeau's departure would leave the party without a permanent head at a time when polls show the Liberals will badly lose to the Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October.


His resignation is likely to spur fresh calls for a quick election to put in place a government able to deal with the administration of President-elect Donald Trump for the next four years.


The prime minister has discussed with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc whether he would be willing to step in as interim leader and prime minister, one source told the newspaper, adding that this would be unworkable if LeBlanc plans to run for the leadership.
 
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News Agency staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)