Indian-origin MP announces vying to become Canada's prime minister

Indian-origin Canadian Member of Parliament Chandra Arya is the first to formally nominate his candidacy for the post of Prime Minister in the upcoming elections. He announced this on social networking site X (formerly Twitter) on January 9.

"I am running to become Canada's next Prime Minister to lead a smaller but more effective government to rebuild our country and ensure prosperity for future generations," Arya said.

The MP, speaking about his policies as Canada's next leader, said he aspires to be a prime minister who will make decisions "based on merit" rather than "DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) quotas."

Trudeau's resignation and an early change of power in Canada. Details

Earlier in the day, a poll showed Canadians' satisfaction with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to step down. It is reported that 81% of Canadians approve of Trudeau's departure, with more than half of them expressing "strong approval." Among supporters of the Liberal Party of the country, which is headed by Trudeau, this decision was supported by 70% of respondents.

Prior to that, on January 6, Justin Trudeau announced that he would step down as chair of the Liberal Party after a new leader is elected. Trudeau shared that he will not be able to be leader in the next election due to internal strife.

On December 23, 2024, it was reported that more than a third of the Liberal Party members of the Canadian Parliament said they wanted to send the country's prime minister to resign as party leader.

On December 17, it was reported that Trudeau was considering resigning over Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's decision to leave the government. Freeland said she would leave the Cabinet on December 16, as Trudeau decided to deprive her of the portfolio of Finance Minister, transferring to another job in the government.