OTTAWA: As he deals with issues both at home and abroad, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau increasingly finds himself isolated. Trudeau, who was once a leading figure on the international scene, is now facing a mutiny inside his own Liberal Party, which has helped him to lose his power significantly.
Having been told by Chandra Arya, the Ottawa MP, that the internal disagreement in the Liberal Party has been openly acknowledged, Arya added that the dissent against Trudeau has been arising in other areas as well. The recent confrontation with the United States, where plans for a 25% tariff on Canadian products have been added to the already troubled Trudeau government, resulted in the political storm that this was. The shock was bigger when Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland decided to leave after ten years of working together with Trudeau.
Informed sources from various Canadian media outlets, such as CBC and the Toronto Star, have found out that more than 50 of the 75 Liberal MPs from Ontario have decided not to support Trudeau anymore. Moreover, The Globe and Mail mentioned that there are 19 out of 153 Liberal MPs who’ve come out to declare that they want Trudeau to resign.
Trudeau’s government, which is operating in a minority, has been depending on the outside support of Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party (NDP). However, the situation got worse for him when Singh declared his intention to pull out his party’s support by the beginning of the new year. Besides, Singh has committed to tabling a no-confidence motion against Trudeau.
Jagmeet Singh, in a tweet made on X (formerly known as Twitter), expressed his strong criticism of the Trudeau leadership by accusing him of not fulfilling his basic responsibilities as the prime minister. In the tweet, he stated, “Justin Trudeau has failed in one of the most interdependent responsibilities of a prime minister—working for the people, not engaging in a power display. The NDP will vote to bring this government down and give Canadians the opportunity to vote for a government that works for them.”
This political upheaval comes amid a delicate moment for Trudeau, whose popular approval, once strong, has been subjected to a series of domestic crises like higher costs of living, economic instability, and disputes with strong allies. If the NDP goes through with this, it is very much possible that Canada will hold a snap election as early as mid-2025, passing the matter into a more politically unstable condition.
The coming weeks will be a real crux for the PM as he faces the challenge of trying to keep his party members united and of restoring the stability of the government in the face of increasing opposition. However, the discontent alarmingly rising in and outside of his party shows a troublesome path for the continuation of his leadership.