Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday appeared poised to lose power early next year after a key ally said he would try to topple the minority Liberal government and trigger a new election.
The new leader of the Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singhwho helped keep Trudeau in office, said he will table a formal no-confidence motion after the elected chamber of the House of Commons returns from winter recess on Jan. 27.
If all opposition parties support the motion, Trudeau will step down after more than nine years as prime minister and there will be a new election.
A series of polls over the past 18 months show that the Liberals, suffering from voter fatigue and anger over high prices and a housing crisis, would be badly beaten by the right-wing Conservatives in the official opposition.
The New Democrats, who like the Liberals are aiming to win support from center-left voters, complain that Trudeau is too beholden to big business.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the Liberal Party caucus meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on December 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo)
“No matter who leads the Liberal Party, this government’s time is up. We will move a clear no-confidence motion in the next session of the House of Commons,” Singh said.
The leader of the Bloc Quebecois, a major opposition party, vowed to support the motion and said there was no scenario in which Trudeau survived. The Conservatives have been calling for new elections for months.
Minutes after Singh issued his letter, a smiling Trudeau, under increasing pressure to resign following the surprise resignation of his finance minister this week, led a Cabinet reshuffle.
Trudeau’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Votes on budgets and other spending are considered measures of trust. In addition, the government must provide opposition parties with a few days in each session to submit motions on all issues, including no-confidence issues.
Before Singh made his announcement, a source close to Trudeau said the prime minister would use the Christmas break to consider his future and was unlikely to make an announcement before January.
Liberal leaders are elected at special meetings of party members that take months to organize.
Singh’s promise to act quickly means that even if Trudeau resigned now, the Liberals would not be able to find a new permanent leader in time for the next election. The party would then have to contest the vote with an interim leader, something that has never happened before in Canada.
So far, around 20 Liberal MPs have openly called for Trudeau to resign, but his cabinet has remained loyal to him.
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The timing of the crisis comes at a critical time, with US President-elect Donald Trump set to take office on January 20 promising to impose a 25% tariff on everyone Imports from Canadawhich would severely damage the economy.
The premiers of the 10 provinces, seeking a unified approach to tariffs, are complaining about what they describe as chaos in Ottawa.
