Pressure mounts on Canada's Trudeau to resign amid looming election defeat

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing growing calls from within his own party to step down as Liberal leader, with many MPs urging him to make way for a new leader as his party heads toward a likely electoral defeat in the coming months.

After more than nine years in power, the Liberal Party is grappling with voter fatigue, widespread dissatisfaction over high living costs, and a growing housing crisis.

Recent polling suggests that the party is on track for a crushing loss in the next election, and internal dissent is intensifying as Trudeau's leadership increasingly comes under fire, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media sources.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) says that more than 50 Liberal MPs from Ontario, the party’s traditional stronghold and Canada’s most populous province, held a conference call on December 21 and unanimously agreed that Trudeau must step down to allow a leadership change.

One of the most notable voices in the call for Trudeau’s resignation was Chandra Arya, a long-time Trudeau ally, who told CBC, “There is no alternative but to have the leadership change now.” Last Friday, only 18 MPs had publicly demanded the Prime Minister’s resignation, but that number has now grown as political momentum builds for his departure.

Trudeau's position was further weakened last week when Chrystia Freeland, the finance minister, resigned following a policy dispute over government spending. Shortly after, opposition parties announced their intention to unite to bring down Trudeau's minority government, exacerbating his vulnerability.

Should Trudeau step down, the Liberal Party could hold a leadership race to choose a new permanent leader. Potential candidates could include Chrystia Freeland, who recently stepped down from her finance role, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.

Despite growing pressure, Trudeau has shown no immediate intention to resign. The Globe and Mail reported that he plans to spend the Christmas holidays with family, followed by a skiing vacation in British Columbia. A Liberal source confirmed last week that Trudeau would take time over the Christmas and New Year period to decide his future.

Opposition leaders argue that given Trudeau’s apparent political decline, and the looming threat of a 25% tariff on Canadian exports from the incoming U.S. administration, the country urgently needs a new government to ensure stability. Many believe that the Liberals are likely to be defeated by the right-wing Conservative Party, which is currently leading in the polls.

In response to growing opposition, the Liberal Party launched an ad campaign over the weekend warning that if the Conservatives won, they would slash public spending. However, the ad made no direct mention of Trudeau, signalling his increasingly tenuous position.

Trudeau now faces several options. He could remain in office until a likely no-confidence motion in March, which would almost certainly result in his government’s collapse. Alternatively, he could step down next month, allowing the party to appoint an interim leader and prepare for a leadership contest. Another option would be to end the current session of Parliament and buy time for the Liberal Party to regroup and select a new leader, though this might risk further alienating voters.

By Tamilla Hasanova