Canadas embattled PM Justin Trudeau announces he will step down NBC 6 South Florida [Video]

Justin Trudeau said Monday that he will resign as the leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, an announcement that will fire the starting gun on a contest to replace him as prime minister.

Trudeau said it was clear that he could not “be the leader during the next elections due to internal battles,” later citing polarization inside and outside the country.

“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. “Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process.”

The beleaguered prime minister’s departure follows growing calls for his resignation from member of his own party, with the Liberals lagging behind the opposition Conservative Party in opinion polls and internal battles raging over his handling of President-elect Donald Trump.

That pressure rose with the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister …