TORONTO - Michael Ignatieff announced Tuesday he will resign as leader of the Liberal Party and will meet with party officials to select the best time for his departure.
The Liberal caucus will gather next week with deputy leader Ralph Goodale to flesh out the next few months for the party.
After shepherding his party to a historic loss on Monday, Ignatieff stood defeated but proud before a line of television cameras to announce the end of his political career.
"I go out of politics with my head held high," he said.
Ignatieff said he will return to teaching, this time here in Canada.
Monday night brought a triple loss for the Liberals: a majority for the Conservative government they helped bring down in March, the loss of official opposition status to the New Democrats, and finally, Ignatieff lost his Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding to Tory candidate Bernard Trottier.
It was a defeat Ignatieff likened to "a forest fire." The Liberals won 34 seats on Monday, down from 77 they won in the 2008 election.
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