Justin Trudeau close to resignation? The Canadian Prime Minister will speak this Monday

This week could hasten the end of his mandate, after almost a decade in power. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is due to deliver a speech this Monday at 3:45 p.m. GMT (4:45 p.m. French time) during which he could announce his resignation.

The head of government has been under pressure for weeks and faced with strong discontent within his own party. Several Canadian media outlets announced his resignation in the coming days.

His departure would leave the party without a leader a few months before the next legislative elections which must be held by the end of October. According to The Globe and Mail’s sources, it has not yet been decided whether Justin Trudeau could leave immediately or remain prime minister until a new interim leader for his party is chosen. But discussions about potential successors are already taking place behind the scenes, according to Le Devoir.

“The die is cast”

A “highly placed” source also informed the Toronto Star newspaper that Justin Trudeau was preparing to resign on Monday, but without being able to specify for the moment whether he would only leave his post as leader of the Liberal party or also his post of Prime Minister in the coming days.

“The die is cast,” writes the newspaper La Presse in any case, which anticipates a “decisive” week for the Canadian head of state. “There is no scenario where he can survive this (Wednesday) meeting. The choice is therefore simple: resignation before the caucus or a revolt on Wednesday morning which forces him to leave,” declared a “liberal source”, who has worked extensively with Justin Trudeau, to the media.

So far the Prime Minister, who had announced his intention to run again, is credited in the polls with more than 20 points behind his conservative rival, Pierre Poilievre. A minority in Parliament, weakened by the withdrawal of his left-wing ally and the growing discontent within his own party, he is facing the most serious political crisis since he came to power nine years ago.

Weakened by the threatening return of Donald Trump

Chaos has reigned in the capital Ottawa since the surprise resignation in mid-December of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who disagreed with Justin Trudeau on how to manage the looming economic war with the United States. She could enter the race to claim the leadership of the liberal party, according to Le Devoir.

Donald Trump’s statements in recent weeks have in fact aggravated the Canadian political crisis and caused a shock wave. The country is seeking a response to the threats of the elected American president, who will take office on January 20 and who has promised to impose 25% customs duties on Canada and Mexico upon his return to power.

Furthermore, Justin Trudeau today suffers from a low popularity rating, being seen as responsible for the high inflation in the country and the housing and public services crisis. Upon his arrival in 2015, the whole world observed with interest, even admiration, the first steps in power of this young multilateralist leader who proclaimed that “Canada is back” on the international scene.

Eldest son of the charismatic Pierre Elliott Trudeau, former Prime Minister who died in 2000, Justin Trudeau searched for his path for a long time: amateur boxer, snowboard instructor, English and French teacher… He finally followed in his father’s footsteps and entered politics late in 2007, was elected MP for Montreal in 2008 then leader of a liberal party in tatters in 2013.

Prime Minister, he made Canada the second country in the world to legalize cannabis, introduced medical assistance in dying, a carbon tax, launched a public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and will sign a modernized version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).