The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien will do what he once said he never would Ñ leave office prior to his planned retirement date of February 2004. According to reports, Chretien announced Wednesday that he will step down by January 12, one day after his 70th birthday. He said that on January 13, there "will be a new cabinet. And I will not be a (prime) minister. "The time has come to move along." The prime minister made the announcement to reporters after registering at the Liberal leadership convention in Toronto. In August 2002, Chretien announced his pending retirement, saying he would fulfill his mandate until February 2004. Since then, he has come under pressure from rival politicians, as well as some within his own party, to turn the reigns of the Liberal party over to prime-minister-in-waiting Paul Martin sooner. Chretien came to power in 1993 and has led the Liberals to three consecutive federal election.
