Ottawa (TDI): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose party looks set to lose power early next year, is under mounting pressure from his own legislators to resign and let someone else take over.
The ruling Liberals face obliteration in the upcoming election after more than 9 years in office amid voter fatigue as well as anger over a housing crisis and high prices.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp said that over fifty Liberal members of parliament from Ontario — the most populous of the ten provinces and the party’s main stronghold — held a call on Saturday and agreed Trudeau had to resign.
Liberal legislator Chandra Arya said that there is no alternative but to have the leadership change now.
Last week, Trudeau suffered two major setbacks — then finance minister Chrystia Freeland resigned amid a policy dispute over spending and all the opposition parties then said they would unite to end the minority Liberal government.
Potential Candidates
If he resigns and the party had time to choose a new permanent leader, the contenders would potentially include Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, Freeland, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, and former central bank governor Mark Carney, according to Reuters.
Trudeau though shows no intention of quitting soon, some media reports suggested he would spend Christmas with family before taking a skiing vacation in the Pacific province of British Columbia.
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Opposition parties say that given Trudeau’s days are clearly numbered, and the next US administration is pledging to impose a crippling 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports, the nation needs an election now to produce a stable government.
Polls suggest the Liberals would be heavily defeated by the official opposition right-of-center Conservatives in an election.
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The Liberal Party released an advert over the weekend stating that if the Conservatives won, they would cut public spending.
