He has vowed to stay on to lead the Liberals into elections scheduled for October this year, but has faced increased pressure from incoming US President Donald Trump, who has threatened a 25% tariff on Canadian goods.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned in December after disagreeing with Trudeau over how to respond to Trump’s apparent plan, in the first open disagreement against the prime minister within his cabinet.
Later that month, Trudeau announced a major shake-up of his cabinet – changing a third of his team in a bid to resolve the political turmoil.
In November, he traveled to Florida to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in an attempt to avoid a trade war.
But since then, the president-elect has also dealt humiliating blows against Trudeau on social media, repeatedly calling him the “governor” of Canada and declaring that making the United States’ northern neighbor the 51st US state is a “great idea.” ”.
Trudeau came to power in 2015, with a mop of dark, curly hair and a confident swagger, and led the Liberals to two more victories at the polls in 2019 and 2021.
But he is now 20 points behind his main rival, conservative Pierre Poilievre, in public opinion polls.
Trudeau, who came to politics late after working as a snowboard instructor, bartender, bouncer and professor, was first elected in 2008 to the House of Commons to represent a working-class neighborhood in Montreal.
In his first two terms as Prime Minister, he introduced reforms in the Senate, signed a new trade deal with the United States, and introduced a carbon tax to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The married father of three also legalized hashish, held a public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women, and passed legislation allowing medically assisted suicide.
– France-Presse Agency
