Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh, a key ally of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said Friday he will seek to topple the minority Liberal government and call an election. TASR informs about it according to a Reuters report.
Singh, who helped keep Trudeau in office, said he would table a formal no-confidence motion after the House of Commons returns from its winter recess on Jan. 27.
If all opposition parties support the motion of no confidence, Trudeau will end his tenure as prime minister after more than nine years and an election will follow.
According to opinion polls from the past 18 months, Trudeau’s Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) would be soundly defeated in the election by the opposition Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). The Conservatives say Canadians cannot afford a planned increase in the federal carbon tax and accuse Trudeau of keeping prices high and responsible for rising crime.
The New Democrats, who like the Liberals are trying to win the support of centre-left voters, complain that the prime minister is too pro-big business.
“Regardless of who leads the Liberal Party, this government’s time is up. We will table a clear no-confidence motion in the next session of the House of Commons,” Singh declared.
The leader of the opposition separatist Bloc Quebecois (BQ) party pledged to support the motion and said there was no scenario in which Trudeau would remain in power.
A source close to Trudeau said before Singh’s announcement that the prime minister would use the Christmas break to consider his future. According to him, it is unlikely that the prime minister would announce something before January.
Liberals elect their leaders at special conventions of party members, whose organization takes several months, writes Reuters. Singh’s promise to act quickly means that even if Trudeau were to step down now, the Liberals would be unable to find a new permanent leader until the next election. The party would then have to participate in an election with an interim leader, something that has never happened before in Canada.
About 20 Liberal MPs are openly calling on Trudeau to resign, Reuters writes, adding that the prime minister’s cabinet remains loyal to him.
