Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Stormy Future

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise cabinet reshuffle on December 20, with 12 government positions to save the situation. This move shows that the government and his seat are shaky under great pressure from opposition parties.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing calls to resign. (Source: AP)

The surprise change in senior personnel on December 20 in Ottawa is considered one of the biggest Cabinet reshuffles since Mr. Trudeau took office nine years ago. Previously, on December 16, Ms. Chrystia Freeland - a Liberal MP - also unexpectedly announced her resignation as Minister of Finance just hours before presenting the federal government's fall economic report and disagreements in dealing with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Disagreement grows

Disagreements over how to respond to Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on Canadian goods appear to have led to a rift between former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Freeland has differing views from Trudeau on both the seriousness of the risk posed by Trump’s tariff threat and what needs to be done.

Freeland sees this as a serious issue and believes the prospect of tariffs will influence many of the government’s decisions right now. For that reason, Freeland opposes the government’s plan to send $250 ($174.48) cheques to most working Canadians in April 2025. She argues that Canada may need that money later to support the economy in the event of large corporate losses, job cuts and a loss of goods and services tax revenue that Trump’s tariffs could cause.

Freeland has also disagreed with others in the federal government on the negotiating strategy with Trump. She has advocated holding off on making concessions for now, fearing that would only invite more demands from Trump, while others have argued that Ottawa should try to appease the president-elect before he takes office in the hope of convincing him not to impose tariffs.

Canadian media commented that Mr. Trudeau had considered reshuffling the Cabinet in the past, but the sudden resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland forced him to act quickly.

The cabinet reshuffle comes days after major upheaval for the Liberal Party and is seen as an attempt to bring stability to Canada, despite intense pressure within the party for Trudeau to resign. Nine cabinet ministers have resigned in 2024 alone, either announcing they would not seek re-election or being fired. CBC News, citing a government source, said the timing and scope of the reshuffle should not be seen as a signal that the prime minister has made up his mind about his future.

Surrounded by storms

Questions about Trudeau's future have been raised as his popularity has fallen in recent polls and calls for his resignation have grown from within his own Liberal Party and the opposition.

At a press conference on December 16, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said that Prime Minister Trudeau has lost control and urged the New Democratic Party (NDP) to join other opposition parties to defeat the minority Liberal government. He stressed that “the finance minister resigned in the middle of the economic crisis and a fifth of his (Prime Minister Trudeau’s) team lost confidence in him. That shows that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has lost control but he still holds power.”

Meanwhile, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who has been shoring up the Trudeau government, issued a statement saying that the ongoing infighting within the Liberal Party was affecting the country’s ability to address the country’s economic challenges. Singh then called on Trudeau to resign, but stopped short of saying that his party would no longer have confidence in the Liberal government, which is necessary to force an election. Despite repeated questions from reporters about the NDP’s stance, Singh said only that “all options are on the table.”

Shortly after Finance Minister Freeland announced her resignation on December 16, at least five Liberal MPs also called for Prime Minister Trudeau to resign. MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast Patrick Weiler, who was among many MPs who questioned Trudeau’s ability to lead his party a few months ago, said today’s developments only reinforce those calls.

On December 20, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also publicly announced the party's intention to hold a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government at the next sitting of the House of Commons, scheduled for early 2025. In a publicly released letter, he said the Liberals "don't deserve another chance" and that is why the NDP will hold a vote of no confidence in the current government.

After pulling out of the deal with the Liberals, the NDP has still voted with the government in the last three no-confidence votes, but with this latest announcement, the government is likely to not survive because all three major opposition leaders want to hold early elections next year.

The Canadian House of Commons is scheduled to reconvene on January 27, 2025, and a no-confidence motion is likely to take place in late February or early March 2025 if Prime Minister Trudeau has not resigned.

Faced with increasing pressure from opposition parties, especially with Patrick Weiler's statement that "the Prime Minister has lost the trust of many parliamentarians and the people of the country", whether Mr. Trudeau can survive or not is an open question in Ottawa.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tuong-lai-song-gio-cua-thu-tuong-justin-trudeau-298201.html