TORONTO (AP) — Some lawmakers in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's own Liberal Party asked the leader not to run for a fourth term Wednesday, handing him one of the biggest tests of his political career.
A smiling Trudeau said Liberals are “strong and united” after meeting with Liberal members of Parliament for three hours. Three Liberals said they were among a total of 20 plus lawmakers from the party to have signed a letter asking Trudeau to step down before the next election. There are 153 Liberals in Canada's House of Commons.
“He has to start listening, listening to the people,” said Ken McDonald, a Liberal Member of Parliament from Newfoundland who said he signed the letter, which has not been made public.
McDonald, who is not running again, said some of his colleagues who plan on running are nervous because of poor polling numbers. Also stating publicly that they had signed the letter were Wayne Long of New Brunswick and Sean Casey of Prince Edward Island.
Trudeau, who previously has said he plans to run again, didn't take questions from reporters after the meeting. No Canadian prime minister has won four straight terms in over 100 years.
His Cabinet ministers have supported him publicly.
“There is what would you call some palace drama going on right now. And that takes us away from the number one job, which is focusing on Canadians," said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, a Liberal Party member.
Not all Liberal members of Parliament came out in support of Trudeau.
“It’s the decision of the leader of the party as to whether he stays on as leader,” said Ontario Liberal lawmaker Yvan Baker said.
Charles Sousa, a Liberal member of Parliament for a suburban Toronto area, said Trudeau is reflecting. He said he didn't sign the letter.
“Trudeau made it very clear that he feels he’s the right choice but he appreciates all of what is being said," Sousa said. "I respect his decision, whatever that may be.”
Trudeau's Liberals recently suffered upsets in special elections in two districts in Toronto and Montreal that the party has held for years, raising doubts about Trudeau’s leadership.
The federal election could come any time between this fall and October 2025. The Liberals must rely on the support of at least one major party in Parliament as they don't have the majority of seats.
The opposition leader of the Bloc Québécois has said his party will work with the Conservatives and the New Democratic Party, of NDP, to bring the Liberals down and force an election if the government doesn’t boost pensions for seniors.
Trudeau channeled the star power of his father in 2015 when he reasserted the country’s liberal identity in 2015 after almost 10 years of Conservative rule. But the son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is now in trouble. Canadians have been frustrated by the cost of living coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Liberals trail the opposition Conservatives 38% to 25% in the latest Nanos poll. The poll of 1,037 respondents has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
“The situation of the Liberals in the opinion polls is likely to remain catastrophic. Unless something dramatic and unforeseen occurs, the electoral prospects of the Liberals with Justin Trudeau at the helm look bleak,” said Daniel Béland, a politics professor at McGill University in Montreal.
Trudeau’s legacy includes opening the doors wide to immigration. He also legalized cannabis and brought in a carbon tax intended to fight climate change.
“He saved the Liberals back in 2015 but, over time, he’s become a huge liability for them," Béland said.