Philip Calvert is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria, Canada. He was Canada's ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos from 2012 to 2016.
As we start 2025, Canada is in a precarious position. Justin Trudeau has announced he will step down when a new head of his Liberal Party is chosen, which will spark a leadership race followed by a general election. This means that as Donald Trump comes into power, with his threat to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports, Canada will have a leadership vacuum at the top.
