Justin Trudeau of Canada, who had been fighting off calls for his resignation and no-confidence motions for months, saw his position become more precarious on Monday after Chrystia Freeland, his deputy premier and minister of Finance, resigned.
Freeland shocked Canadian politics by resigning abruptly on Monday. She had been one of Trudeau’s staunchest supporters for years. Trudeau had asked her to resign from her position as finance minister to accept another Cabinet post, but Freeland felt that resigning was the “honest” and “viable” option.
Freeland fought with Trudeau over fiscal policy. They were particularly upset about Trudeau’s frantic spending to try to boost his waning popularity among voters. Freeland’s resignation letter referred to Trudeau’s spending spree as a haphazard assortment of “costly gimmicks”, which Canada couldn’t afford, given the tariff threats of Donald Trump, President-elect of the United States.
Freeland’s letter to Trudeau was in many ways a resignation since she appeared to be resigned to seeing the Liberal government wiped out at the next election.
“Inevitably our time as government will end.” “How we respond to the threats our country faces, will define us for generations, and possibly longer,” she wrote. She chiseled Trudeau’s tombstone next to hers.
Trudeau’s ministers expressed their shock at Freeland’s abrupt and heated resignation after serving for years as the Prime Minister’s right hand. Liberal Party allies were even more nervous after the shock that swept through the administration.
Jagmeet Sing, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), stated on Monday that Trudeau must go.
“I call on Justin Trudeau’s resignation. He must go. Canadians are currently struggling to pay for their daily living. Everywhere I go, I hear this. They cannot afford a home. They can’t afford to buy groceries,” Singh said.
“And to top it all off, Trump has threatened tariffs of 25% which puts hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs in danger. Justin Trudeau, and the Liberals, are focusing more on themselves than on these issues. Instead of fighting for Canadians, they’re fighting against themselves. For this reason, I am calling today on Justin Trudeau’s resignation. He has to go,” he said.
Trudeau’s continued tenure has depended on the support of Singh and his NDP, despite several attempts from the Conservative Party to remove him with a vote of confidence. The most recent attempt was made by the Conservative Party on December 9.
Singh said that on Monday, “all options are on the table”, including the NDP’s withdrawal of support in the event the Conservatives tried to force Trudeau from office once again.
Yves-Francois Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Quebecois on Monday, said that “Trudeau’s government is finished.” He suggested Trudeau seek “dissolution” of the parliament and call new elections as soon as possible – if not by 2025.
On Monday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre seemed to be considering a second confidence vote. Trudeau’s position will be secured by Tuesday’s bell when the House of Commons adjourns for the remainder of the year. However, the respite for the prime minister may not last beyond the holiday period.
Poilievre, after Freeland’s resignation, said that Justin Trudeau had lost control but still clung to power. We cannot accept chaos, division, and weakness when we are facing a 25% tariff by our closest ally and biggest trading partner.
He said, “We are witnessing the government of Canada spiral out of control in front of our eyes.”
“Eighty percent of Canadians lost confidence in the Prime Minister. Why is Jagmeet making the whole country wait until he gets his pension? Poilievre taunted the NDP leader, asking him why he was being so coy when it came to whether or not he could save Trudeau another confidence vote.
Poilievre seemed to be preparing for a new attack on Trudeau, even before Freeland’s resignation. He called Trudeau “weak” last week.
“He is dividing our nation, and he has destroyed our economic system. He is a danger to our future.” Poilievre stated that we must remove him from office.
“This guy’s a radical extremist.” Justin Trudeau, most of all, is a diagnosable Narcissist. He will destroy the country. He will destroy his political party to maintain and bolster his ego,” he said.
Poilievre was particularly alarmed by Trudeau’s threat to counter Trump’s tariffs with an extra tax on Canadian oil sold in the United States. The Conservative leader dismissed the idea as “another crazy, divisive and costly idea by Justin Trudeau.”
Global News Canada reported Tuesday that Liberal support has dropped to 21 percent. This puts the once-dominant party in a tie with Singh’s NDP. Liberal poll numbers are down five points since September.
Darrel Bricker of Ipsos, the CEO of the polling company, saw the real danger that the Liberal Party would collapse and be absorbed by the NDP.
What we are seeing is progressive voters starting to reconsider their NDP support. Bricker, Global News reported that we know one of the biggest voter blocs among Canadians is the Liberal-NDP Switchers.
CTV News reported that the Liberals held an emergency caucus on Monday in response to Freeland’s resignation. Trudeau attended the meeting but appeared to be in shock when he emerged. He walked robotically by protesters demanding his resignation.
It’s been a busy day. Trudeau told Liberal Party members at a holiday party on Monday that it had not been an easy time.
Trudeau’s remarks were difficult to discern. Was he trying to rally the Liberal Party’s stalwarts to his cause, or was he saying goodbye? He ended his remarks by telling the Liberal stalwarts to take a well-deserved holiday and come back “ready to prove to Canadians that we have a positive vision for this great country’s future, which is worth fighting for.”
Freeland attended the same event and received a standing applause, only a few short hours after she had slammed Trudeau with her furious resignation letter.
CTV attempted to gauge the mood of the Liberal Party after the caucus and holiday parties. They concluded that Trudeau has some support but the number calling for him to resign is up significantly since Freeland resigned. The most common sentiments were that Trudeau’s unpopularity would hurt the Liberals in the next elections and that he was no match for Donald Trump, the incoming president.
Montreal MP Anthony Housefather is a prominent Liberal. He said that on Monday, the Prime Minister had “passed its shelf life.” Housefather predicted that the Liberal Party will be destroyed in the next elections if the question “Do I want Justin Trudeau as prime minister or not?” dominates the minds of voters.
He said that the Liberal Party needed a new leader and a new vision to remain viable at the next elections.
CTV News reports that Trudeau may indeed be considering resigning and dissolving Parliament. He could announce his plans in his Tuesday address to Parliament.
