Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would step down from the role and as the country's party leader on Monday, but will remain in office as a replacement is chosen.

Trudeau — who has become deeply unpopular over a range of issues, including the soaring cost of food and housing — has kept publicly mum in recent weeks, despite intensifying pressure for him to step down after the abrupt resignation of his finance minister on Dec. 16. He returned to Ottawa after the Christmas holidays and made the announcement to resign, adding he would remain in the role until a replacement is chosen.

“I care deeply about this country,” Trudeau said during a press conference Monday morning.

Trudeau said he came to the decision after speaking with his family about their future over the holidays.

"I am not someone who backs away from a fight, particularly when the fight is as important as this one is but I have always been driven by my love for Canada, by my desire to serve Canadians and by what is in the best interest of Canadians," Trudeau said. "Canadians deserve a real choice in the next election and it has become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election."

An official familiar with the matter said Parliament, which had been due to resume on Jan. 27, will be suspended until March 24. The timing will allow for a Liberal Party leadership race. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter publicly.

While all three opposition parties now say they would support a vote to topple Trudeau's minority government, Parliament is not currently in session so that threat wasn’t immediate. But members of his own party increasingly called for his resignation.

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If he stayed on until Parliament returns later this month, his Liberal party would’ve been forced from power by a no-confidence vote that would trigger an election, which would very likely favor the opposing Conservative Party.

During Monday’s press conference, Trudeau said he’s requested a new session of Parliament and it was granted.

Trudeau came to power in 2015 after 10 years of Conservative Party rule, and had initially been hailed for returning the country to its liberal past. But the 53-year-old scion of one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers became deeply unpopular with voters in recent years over a range of issues, including the soaring cost of food and housing, and surging immigration.

The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada internationally. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods if the government does not stem what Trump calls a flow of migrants and drugs in the U.S. — even though far fewer of each crosses into the U.S. from Canada than from Mexico, which Trump has also threatened.

Canada is a major exporter of oil and natural gas to the U.S., which also relies on its northern neighbor for steel, aluminum and autos.

Trudeau was scheduled to participate virtually in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations on Monday.

"His long silence following this political drama speaks volumes about the weakness of his current position," said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

Trudeau had been planning to run for a fourth term in next year’s election, even in the face of rising discontent among Liberal Party members. The party recently suffered upsets in special elections in two districts in Toronto and Montreal that it has held for years. No Canadian prime minister in more than a century has won four straight terms.

And based on the latest polls, Trudeau’s chances for success looked slim. In the latest poll by Nanos, the Liberals trail the Conservatives 47% to 21%.

Over nearly a decade in power, Trudeau embraced an array of causes favored by his liberal base. He spoke in favor of immigration at a time other countries were trying to tighten their borders. He championed diversity and gender equality, appointing a Cabinet that was equal parts men and women. He legalized cannabis.

His efforts to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental protection were criticized by both the right and left. He levied a tax on carbon emissions and rescued a stalled pipeline expansion project to get more of Alberta’s oil to international markets.

Fewer people died from COVID-19 in Canada than elsewhere and his government provided massive financial support. But animosity grew among those opposed to vaccine mandates. Flags with Trudeau’s name and expletives became a common sight in rural parts.

A combination of scandal and unpopular policies damaged his prospects over time.

Trudeau’s father swept to power in 1968, and led Canada for almost 16 years, becoming a storied name in the country’s history, most notably by opening its doors wide to immigrants. Pierre Trudeau was often compared to John F. Kennedy and remains one of the few Canadian politicians who are recognized in America.

Tall and trim, with movie-star looks, Justin Trudeau channeled the star power — if not quite the political heft — of his father.

He became the second-youngest prime minister in Canada’s history, and rivals said his age was a liability when he first sought office. But he won a sweeping mandate in a come-from-behind victory in 2015.

Trudeau is a former teacher, nightclub bouncer and snowboard instructor who has three children with his now estranged wife, a former model and TV host.