A third of Liberal MPs want Trudeau to resign as Canada's PM: Report

Of the 153 Liberal Party MPs, 51 have joined the call for the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to a report

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Photo: Reuters)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s situation has become more precarious as nearly a third of his MPs have revolted against him, according to a report.

While Trudeau had been wading through troubled waters since September when Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party (NDP) withdrew support, the resignation of Deputy PM and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland last week plunged him into a fresh crisis. Freeland’s resignation has led to calls amongst Trudeau’s Liberal Party MPs seeking his resignation.

Amid such a situation, CBC News has reported that at least 51 Liberal MPs have sought Trudeau’s resignation.

Of the 75 Liberal MPs from Canada’s Ontario province, CBC reported that 51 MPs joined a virtual meeting over the weekend and agreed that Trudeau must resign.

Since Freeland’s resignation, there have been reports that Trudeau is considering resignation or proroguing the parliament and calling early elections. Canada is supposed to have parliamentary elections by October 2025 but Trudeau may call for snap elections to avoid the embarrassment of being ousted by his own MPs.

Trudeau, who has been the Canadian premier since 2015, is deeply unpopular moment. The latest Ipsos polls shows that the Opposition’s prime ministerial candidate, Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party, has a 25 per cent lead over him.

Dissenting MPs communicate message to Trudeau: Report

The MPs who joined the virtual meeting over the weekend tasked Ontario caucus chair Michael Coteau with communicating to Trudeau and the Prime Minister’s Office that must resign, according to CBC.

An MP told the outlet that even as they sought Trudeau’s resignation, they have not fixed any deadline for him.

There are also signs that the MPs want to ditch Trudeau to elevate Freeland as the Liberal Party’s leader. Following her resignation, at least two MPs —Sean Casey and Chandra Arya— have said they would support Freeland as the prime ministerial candidate.

“While I was disappointed by the timing of her announcement, I must acknowledge her exceptional political acumen. Whether by design or circumstance, she has emerged as a credible and stable alternative to your leadership,” said Arya in a letter to Trudeau, according to the outlet.

Notably, the revolt against Trudeau has emerged in Ontario, which is the largest province in Canada. Of the 337 seats in the Canadian parliament, Ontario has the most at 121. Of these 121 seats, the Liberals hold 75. Overall, Trudeau is running a minority government after NDP’s withdrawal of support as Liberals just have 153 seats — 16 short of the majority-mark of 169.