Toronto: The future of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership appeared increasingly uncertain after New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh, a key ally, said he would introduce a motion to topple the minority Liberal government.
Singh, whose party has been helping keep Trudeau in office, announced in an open letter posted on social media that he would declare a loss of confidence in the Trudeau-led Liberal government next year, a move that would trigger an early election if other opposition parties support his move.
Canada’s next election must be held on or before October. Singh is the last of Canada’s three main opposition parties to turn on Trudeau.
In his letter, Singh said the Liberals were undeserving of “another chance.” “That’s why the NDP will vote to bring this government down and give Canadians a chance to vote for a government who will work for them,” he wrote.
He said the New Democrats plan to use their next opposition day in the House of Commons — during which opposition priorities are given precedence over government business — to introduce the vote.
The House is currently on its winter break and is set to resume on January 27.
Singh’s letter came as questions swirled about the future of Trudeau, with at least 21 Liberal MPs now calling for him to resign, CBC News reported.
Singh’s announcement is the latest in a series of political setbacks suffered by Trudeau this week after the resignation of Chrystia Freeland, his deputy prime minister and finance minister.
Freeland quit hours before she was set to deliver an economic statement on Monday, citing political disagreements between her and Trudeau on the “best path forward for Canada” in light of tariff threats posed by US President-elect Donald Trump.
“No matter who is leading the Liberal party, this government’s time is up,” Singh’s letter read.
Singh also said the Liberals have frequently not lived up to their promises and that the time for change is now. The letter was released just before Trudeau announced his revamped front bench on Friday morning.
The New Democrats ended their parliamentary alliance with the Liberals in early September, but have repeatedly declared confidence in the government when the Conservatives have introduced votes to bring the Liberals down.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has repeatedly called for an election as soon as possible. Had Singh voted with the Conservatives, “we would be a third of the way into an election campaign right now,” Poilievre told reporters on Friday.
“But he suddenly had an epiphany and says that he can no longer support the costly chaos that he has enabled as part of the NDP-Liberal coalition.” The Conservative leader said he was writing to Governor General Mary Simon “asking her to urgently reconvene Parliament and require a non-confidence vote” to end Trudeau’s reign.
Trudeau has not responded publicly to these calls and has reportedly told members of the party that he will take the holidays to reflect and decide what to do.
