Justin Trudeau May Be Running Out of Time

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Justin Trudeau has seemed to be on the edge of a government revolt for weeks and last week the demands for him to step down spread to his own party, though most of the Liberal MPs involved remain anonymous.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada faced the stiffest challenge to his leadership from fellow elected Liberal Party members on Wednesday during a closed-door meeting where he was urged to resign to avoid torpedoing the party’s chances in the next election...

The growing dissatisfaction played out on Wednesday, when most of the 153 Liberal members of Parliament gathered in Ottawa for a scheduled caucus meeting.

While caucus proceedings are typically secret, Mr. Trudeau, according to Canadian news media citing unnamed sources, was presented with a letter signed by about two dozen caucus members calling on him to step down...

CBC News reported that Mr. Trudeau told the closed meeting that he would reflect on the concerns raised.

The letter presented to Trudeau apparently gave him until today to resign or else. But the or else wasn't specified and now that the deadline has arrived, it's not clear if the anonymous MPs plan to do anything at all if Trudeau ignores their demands. In fact, he's already said he has no plans to step down.

At a Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday, 24 MPs delivered a letter to Trudeau asking him to resign and giving him until Monday to respond.

But the prime minister told reporters the next day that he plans to stay on at the party helm.

It's unclear what the dissenting MPs — most of whom have stayed anonymous to the public — plan to do in response, with one of them saying he's "moving on."

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So for the moment it looks like Trudeau called their bluff and they had nothing. But there's a new poll out today which suggests his problem goes beyond two dozen MPs.

Of those voters definitely considering supporting the Liberals, 39% say Trudeau should stay on, compared to 35% who want him to step down...

Angus Reid’s polling puts Trudeau in a precarious position, putting his approval rating at just 29% — ranking third behind Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre at 36% and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh at 37%.

Granted he still has a slight plurality of support but it's not much for a guy who could be facing additional votes of no confidence as soon as this week. In addition to the deadline from his own party today, Trudeau faces another deadlines set by the Bloc Quebecois tomorrow.

...the Bloc has given the Liberal government until Tuesday to pass two pieces of legislation that would increase old-age security payments for seniors and bolster supply management.

If the Liberals do not comply, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet says his party will begin discussions with other opposition parties about toppling the minority government.

We'll have to wait and see if the Bloc has a little more backbone than the Liberals but it does feel like Trudeau is tap-dancing through a mine field at this point. It's not clear which challenge from which faction is going to be the end of his government but it's hard to see him hanging on for another year at this point. 

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Finally, Trudeau is belatedly doing his best to move toward the center, admitting last week that he went too far with immigration.

At a news conference in Ottawa, Trudeau took the unusual step of acknowledging his policies had placed a strain on the economy.

He said Canada needed to "pause population growth and let our economy catch up," adding that while immigration was "essential" for Canada's future, it must be controlled and sustainable.

Under the new plan, the target number of permanent residents arriving in Canada in 2025 will be reduced by 21%, from 500,000 to 395,000.

Like Joe Biden's efforts, this is probably too little, too late. 

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