TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s deputy prime minister said she believes Justin Trudeau has the support of a majority of Liberals in parliament as some prepare to confront him Wednesday in hopes of convincing him to resign steps.
Chrystia Freeland and other cabinet members voiced their support for the prime minister on Tuesday, ahead of a wider meeting with colleagues.
A number of Liberals have signed a letter hoping to convince Trudeau to resign before the next election. It was unclear how many signed.
“The vast majority of Liberal MPs support the Prime Minister, support him as the leader of our government, support him as the leader of our party and support him as the man who will lead us to the next election,” Freeland said.
Freeland said she feels more confident about that after meetings in the past 36 hours.
The Liberal recently suffered setbacks in special elections in districts the party has been organizing for years, raising questions about Trudeau’s leadership. The loss of a district in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, a traditionally liberal stronghold, does not bode well.
A number of Liberal lawmakers have said they will not run for re-election.
Trudeau has said he will lead the party into the election, which will take place sometime between this fall and October 2025. His Liberal Party must count on the support of at least one major party in Parliament, as the Liberals do not have a majority in the elections. House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois opposition leader said his party will work with the Conservatives and NDP parties to topple the Liberals and force an election if the government does not increase old-age benefits for seniors.
“The whole story now is: what is Justin Trudeau, superstar, going to do in the coming days,” said bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet.
Trudeau’s Liberals have been in power since 2015, but Canadians have been frustrated by the cost of living due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trudeau reaffirmed the country’s liberal identity in 2015, after nearly a decade of conservative rule. His legacy includes opening wide the doors to immigration. He also legalized cannabis and introduced a carbon tax to combat climate change.
“Anyone who has ever bet against Justin Trudeau has regretted making that bet the next day,” said Labor Minister Randy Boissonnault.
Some Cabinet ministers acknowledged that some colleagues disagree.
“Any time there are dissenting voices, we have to deal with them, we have to listen to them carefully,” said Labor Minister Stephen MacKinnon.
“We need to engage with them and present a united face to Canadians.”
The conservative leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, goaded the prime minister about the possible uprising.
“The reality is that he cannot run the government because he is too busy fighting for his job after nine years,” Poilievre said.
Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, said the shelf life of Canadian prime ministers over the past 75 years is about a decade.
“Trudeau’s time is up. Scandals over the years have tarnished his image. He deflects or avoids rather than answering straight questions. There is a popular push for change. Most Canadians have rejected him,” he said.
“He is the reason the Liberals came to power from the wilderness in 2015, but it is no longer 2015.”
Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, came to power in 1968 on a wave of “Trudeaumania” and led Canada for almost sixteen years.
