Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he will step down, citing “internal battles” with members of his own party.

Trudeau, in a televised press conference, said the governing Liberals will launch a leadership race to replace him as leader and prime minister. He will stay on until a new leader is chosen.

“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,” said Trudeau, who has been running the country as prime minister since November 2015.

The announcement ends weeks of turmoil for Trudeau, who has been facing intense pressure from within his own party to step down amid slumping poll numbers. The internal fighting came to a head on Dec. 16, when his top aide - Chrystia Freeland - resigned as finance minister and deputy prime minister.

Trudeau also announced that he would be proroguing Parliament, a formal act that ends the current parliamentary session, until March 24. The move will prevent opposition parties from bringing down the government before then.

Trudeau and the Liberals have been trailing badly in the polls for more than a year to the main opposition Conservative Party. Polling aggregator 338canada.ca has support for the Conservatives at 45 per cent, versus 20 per cent for the Liberals.