Some members of Canada's ruling Liberal party have given Justin Trudeau an ultimatum to either resign by October 28 or face the risk of a revolt, marking a significant challenge the embattled Prime Minister has faced for the last nine years. This comes as his government is embroiled in a massive diplomatic standoff with India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Trudeau met with his Liberal MPs in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday where 20 lawmakers - none being Cabinet members - asked the Prime Minister to resign in anticipation of a possible drubbing in next year's general election, The Guardian reported. However, Trudeau, seen smiling after the meeting that lasted for three hours, said the Liberals were "united and strong", according to The Associated Press.
According to CBC News, 24 of the party's 153 lawmakers had signed a letter calling on Trudeau to abandon his plans to run for a fourth term and quit as Prime Minister. No Canadian leader has won a fourth term in the last 100 years.
"He has to start listening, listening to the people," said Ken McDonald, a Liberal MP from Newfoundland who said he had signed the letter, which has not been made public yet.
According to CBC Poll Tracker, the Conservatives have a nearly 20-point lead over the Liberals. This means that if the election, scheduled not before October 2025, is held today, it would signal the end of Trudeau's 10-year rule.
Ken McDonald, who has decided not to run again, said some of his colleagues planning to contest the election had become nervous due to poor polling numbers, The Associated Press reported.
Calls for Trudeau's resignation gathered steam in recent weeks after the Liberals suffered stunning upsets in special elections in two districts in Montreal and Toronto, considered safe seats for the party.
Trudeau has become deeply unpopular in his ninth year as the Prime Minister and has faced calls from within his party to quit to avoid a potential loss that may push the Liberals to a distant third-place finish.
But, his Cabinet ministers have backed him publicly despite questions raised about his leadership.
"There is what would you call some palace drama going on right now. And that takes us away from the number one job, which is focusing on Canadians," Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, a Liberal Party member, said.
Currently, the Liberals are running a minority government after its ally, the New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Canadian Sikh MP Jagmeet Singh, pulled out of the government earlier this month.
The development comes as Trudeau is facing backlash in India over his claims that Indian government agents were involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist wanted by India, on Canadian soil in June last year. India called those allegations "absurd" and "motivated" and made other significant moves, including expelling six Canadian diplomats and downgrading its bilateral ties.
Till date, Canada has not provided any evidence to back up its claims and continues to pinpoint India over Nijjar's killing.
Meanwhile, a Nanos Research poll released on October 15 put the Conservatives on 39 per cent public support, with the Liberals on 23 per cent and the rival left-leaning New Democrats on 21 per cent.
