Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chances of staying in power seem shaky after a major cabinet reshuffle on Friday. This comes after the opposition party which has backed Trudeau’s government for years announced that it will vote no confidence in the government after the Parliament resumes in January 2025.
After the reshuffle, it remains unclear whether he will step aside in the coming days or weeks.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Trudeau said his government is preparing for Donald Trump and his threat to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian products after a meeting with his new Cabinet.
“In exactly one month the new president will inaugurated and we are preparing Canada to face that,” Trudeau said as per AP.
This comes after Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland's resignation on Monday. She said she was no longer on the same page with Trudeau about the best path forward for Canada. Freeland, who is also the country's Finance Minister, quit just hours before she was due to present a fall economic update to parliament. She has served as the finance minister since August 2020.
The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada.
US President-elect Donald Trump often continuously refers to Trudeau as the governor of the 51st state and also threatens to impose heavy tariffs if Canada does not stem what he calls a flow of migrants and drugs in the United States.
Marc Miller, the immigration minister and a close friend of Trudeau’s, said that over the next 60 days, the Canadian economy would have an existential threat when people could lose their jobs. “The unemployment rate could double. We need to focus on that”, he added. “I think he’s the best to lead us in a very difficult situation. We can’t be in a position where the government has no ability to fight back”, Miller added.
The leftist New Democratic Party (NDP) said on Friday it would trigger a vote of no confidence in Trudeau after lawmakers reconvene on January 27. Trudeau’s Liberals do not hold an outright majority in Parliament hence for years, they have depended on NDP’s support in order to pass legislation and stay in power. But that support vanished as NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has called on Trudeau to resign — and he made clear on Friday that the NDP will vote to bring down the government.
According to AP, Trudeau, who has led Canada for nearly a decade, has become widely unpopular in recent years over a wide range of issues, including the high cost of living and rising inflation.
There is no mechanism for Trudeau’s party to force him out in the short term. He could say he will step aside when a new party leader is chosen, or his Liberal party could be forced from power by a “no confidence” vote in Parliament that would trigger an election that would very likely favour the opposing Conservative Party.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Canada needs an immediate election and requires a prime minister who can face Trump from a position of strength.