Sawt Falasteen - Canada's Trudeau expected to announce resignation amid political crisis

Trudeau, facing his worst political crisis since becoming premier in 2015, is scheduled to address reporters at 10:45 am (1545 GMT).

The government source told AFP that Trudeau had decided to step down, but the timeline remained uncertain.

"It's a done deal that he's leaving. It's now just about how," the source said.

Trudeau could announce that he is stepping down as head of the governing Liberal party but seek to stay on as a caretaker prime minister while the party chooses a new leader, a process that could take several months.

A new party leader would then be tasked with shoring up support for Liberals ahead of a general election that must be held this year.

Trudeau's Liberals are trailing badly in the polls to the opposition Conservatives and narrowly survived three non-confidence votes in parliament late last year.

Trudeau's political fortunes plunged to new depths following the surprise resignation in December of his former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland.

In a scathing resignation letter, Freeland accused Trudeau of focusing on political gimmicks to appease voters, including a costly Christmas tax holiday, instead of steadying Canada's finances ahead of a possible trade war with the United States.

Incoming US president Donald Trump has promised to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports, a measure that could prove devastating to Canada's economy.

B.AbuZeid--SF-PST