Here are some potential ways forward for Canada:

Who will lead Canada now and will there be an election?

That means an election is unlikely before May at the earliest, so Trudeau will remain in charge — at least initially — of dealing with the threat of crippling tariffs once United States president-elect Donald Trump takes office on 20 January.

The next election must be held by late October and polls show voters angry over high prices and a shortage of affordable housing will elect the opposition Conservatives and hand the Liberals a resounding defeat, no matter who leads the party.

How will the Liberal Party leadership race pan out?

The challenge for the party is that these conventions usually take months to arrange and if an election does occur before then, the Liberals would be in the hands of a prime minister not chosen by members. This has never happened in Canada.

Deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland is a possible contender to take over the Liberal Party of Canada. Source: AP / Patrick Doyle

The Liberals could try to run a shorter convention than usual, but this might prompt protests from candidates who felt this placed them at a disadvantage.

Lori Turnbull, a political science professor at Dalhousie University, said traditionally a Liberal leadership race would take four to six months but this time “they’ve got to be quicker than that”.

His minority government had been held up by a deal with the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP), but in December, the NDP said they would vote to topple Trudeau at the next opportunity.