Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chances of staying in power have become more tenuous since the opposition party that backed his government for years announced it would vote no confidence in the government when Parliament resumed.
An embattled Trudeau reshuffled his Cabinet on Friday, but whether he will step aside in the coming days or weeks remained an open question.
Trudeau did not address his future or take questions after he left the meeting with his new Cabinet. But he said his government was preparing for Donald Trump and his threat to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian products.
“In exactly one month the new president will be inaugurated, and we are preparing Canada to face that,” Trudeau said in his first remarks to reporters since his finance minister quit.
But Trudeau is facing rising discontent over his leadership, and the abrupt departure of his finance minister on Monday could be something he can’t recover from.
“The prime minister has simply asked for some time to reflect on his own future,” said David McGuinty, the new public safety minister.
Rachel Bendayan, the official languages minister, said Trudeau “told us he had a difficult choice to make.”
The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada.
Trump keeps calling Trudeau the governor of the 51st state and has threatened to impose sweeping tariffs if Canada does not stem what he calls a flow of migrants and drugs into the United States — even though far fewer of each cross into the U.S. from Canada than from Mexico, which Trump has also threatened.
“We have in the next 60 days an existential threat for the Canadian economy, for people that could lose their jobs. The unemployment rate could double. We need to focus on that,” said Marc Miller, the immigration minister and a close friend of Trudeau’s.
“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.”
Parliament is now shut for the holidays until late next month, but the leftist New Democratic Party said Friday that it would trigger a vote of no confidence in Trudeau after lawmakers reconvene on January 27.
Because Trudeau’s Liberals do not hold an outright majority in Parliament, they have for years depended on the support of the NDP to pass legislation and stay in power. But that support has vanished — NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has called on Trudeau to resign — and he made clear Friday the NDP would vote to bring down the government.
The Liberals could delay Parliament’s return. Trudeau could decide not to run in next year’s election and allow for a party leadership race.
Liberal Rob Oliphant became the latest lawmaker to call for the prime minister to step aside, saying there should be a “robust, open leadership contest.”
Trudeau, who has led the country for nearly a decade, has become widely unpopular in recent years over a 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, which would very likely favor the opposing Conservative Party.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Canada needs an immediate election and requires a prime minister who can face Trump from a position of strength.
