Andrew Scheer said his resignation was "the best thing for our Conservative Party," adding that he would stay on in his role until a replacement was chosen. Scheer, 40, is a fiscal and social conservative who was first elected at age 25.

Scheer was under pressure over his failure to beat Trudeau, who opinion polls showed was vulnerable after a series of scandals. When pictures of Trudeau in blackface emerged during the campaign, Scheer got a bump in the polls that faded before election day.

It is unclear when the party will elect another leader. The country's most prominent Conservative, Alberta government head Jason Kenney, has no intention of running, said a well-placed Conservative source.

Dustin van Vugt, the Conservatives' executive director, denied a report by Global News saying Scheer quit after it was discovered he had secretly used party money to pay for private schooling for his children.

Van Vugt said the party did indeed pay school costs, but he said all the proper procedures had been followed.

Former Conservative Cabinet minister Peter MacKay, lawmaker Erin O'Toole, now the party's critic for foreign affairs, and former interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose are other potential leadership candidates.

October's election was the second in a row that the Conservatives lost to Trudeau.

Although Scheer won more votes, his support was concentrated in Western provinces that have fewer parliamentary seats than Quebec and Ontario, where Trudeau prevailed.

Conservative critics complained Scheer's personal opposition to abortion and his reluctance to champion gay rights had hurt him among those who live in the eastern provinces of Canada.

"I felt it was time to put my family first," Scheer, a father of five, said when he announced his decision.

Trudeau, who has three children, thanked Scheer for his service and said he understood the difficulties of balancing the job with a family.

Trudeau lost his majority in the election and now must govern with the support of at least one opposition party.

Australian Associated Press