TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that he would step down in the coming months, bowing to an angry electorate at a time of uncertain economic prospects and political infighting.

The announcement, which came amid a gridlocked Parliament, left Canada in political flux just as the incoming Trump administration has vowed to impose punishing tariffs on Canadian imports.

“It’s time for a reset,” Trudeau told reporters outside his residence on a frigid morning in Ottawa, the capital. Trudeau said that he had suspended Parliament until March 24 and that he would stay on as Liberal Party leader and prime minister until his replacement had been chosen through a nationwide party election.

“I truly feel that removing the contention around my own continued leadership is an opportunity to bring the temperature down,” he said.

Trudeau, 53, who rose to power nearly a decade ago and quickly became seen as a progressive icon, is the latest leader in the West to be swept aside by a mood of anti-incumbency, a backlash against immigration and anger at the lingering effects of a spike in inflation during the coronavirus pandemic. Although inflation in Canada has receded to below 2%, unemployment remains high, above 6%.

General elections must be held by October, a timetable Trudeau referred to Monday.

“It’s become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election,” he said.

Trudeau has faced weeks of mounting pressure from inside his party’s ranks.

In December, Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, abruptly stepped down, issuing a stinging rebuke of his leadership and stewardship of the country. Freeland, who had been a close ally of the prime minister, accused Trudeau of having engaged in “costly political gimmicks” and being ill-prepared to face the challenge posed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Her resignation incited a growing chorus of voices from Liberal parliamentarians asking him to step aside for the sake of the party, and let someone else lead the party in general elections.

Trudeau also had been under pressure from a resurgent Conservative Party, which in recent surveys has drawn a commanding double-digit lead over the Liberal Party. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, posted a video Monday on social media promoting an alternate vision of governing: “ax the tax,” referring to Trudeau’s unpopular carbon tax, “build the homes,” “fix the budget” and “stop the crime.”

The upheaval comes as Canada is debating how best to deal with Trump’s pledge to impose tariffs that would upend a trade agreement among Canada, the United States and Mexico. (Trump has also threatened tariffs on Mexico and says he wants both countries to address the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States.)

Tariffs would be potentially ruinous for Canada’s economy, which is heavily dependent on exports, particularly of oil and automobiles. The United States and Canada are each other’s biggest trading partners.

Among possible replacements for Trudeau are Freeland, the former deputy prime minister and finance minister; Dominic LeBlanc, who became finance minister when Freeland resigned; Mélanie Joly, Canada’s top diplomat since 2021; and Mark Carney, a former governor of the Bank of Canada, who also led the Bank of England.