Justin Trudeau has said he intends to step down after nine years as Canadian prime minister in the face of a mounting set of crises, leaving office once a new ruling party leader is chosen.

“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its new leader,” the 53-year-old leader told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa on Monday.

“I care deeply about this country and I will always be motivated by what is in the best interests of Canadians. And the fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority parliament in Canadian history,” he said, adding that the country’s parliament will be suspended until March 24 while a new leader is chosen.

The election must be held on or before October 20, but could be brought forward. Polls show Trudeau’s Liberal Party is set to badly lose to the opposition Conservative Party, led by the firebrand Pierre Poilievre.

“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,” said Trudeau on Monday.

Trudeau said that Poilievre’s vision “is not the right one for Canadians.”

“Stopping the fight against climate change doesn’t makes sense. Backing off on the values and strength and diversity that Canada has always, always, worked to pull itself together on, is not the right path for the country. Attacking journalists, the CBC institutions: that’s not what Canadians need in this moment. We need an ambitious, optimistic view of the future, and Pierre Poilievre is not offering that,” he said.

Trudeau was elected three times, most recently in 2021, when he remained in power but lost his governing majority. Since then, Poilievre’s Conservative Party has built a lead over the Liberal Party of more than 20% in national polling averages.

Poilievre has recently found a following with some in Trump’s base, including Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and owner of X. Late last year, Musk called Trudeau “an insufferable tool,” adding that Trudeau “won’t be in power for much longer.”