Et Tu Jagmeet? Trudeau Game Over Looms As Key Ally Vows To Topple Him
In what could be the final act of a political drama swirling around Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh has thundered in with a no-confidence motion that could topple the government, Reuters reports.
"We will put forward a clear motion of non-confidence in the next sitting of the House of Commons," said Singh.
The motion, set to unfold as the House of Commons returns from winter recess on January 27, has sent shockwaves through Ottawa's political corridors already rattled by internal Liberal strife and a high-profile cabinet resignation.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wants to 'urgently' reconvene parliament so that lawmakers can hold a no-confidence vote ahead of schedule.
The undercurrents of discontent have been bubbling for months, but the situation came to a head when Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s stalwart Finance Minister, abruptly vacated her post amid a cloud of controversy. Sources close to the matter cite irreconcilable differences over policy directions and leadership style, with Freeland's departure exposing cracks in the Liberal foundation.
[W]hen Trudeau informed Freeland five days later that she would soon be out as finance minister, she was deeply upset. Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor and a darling of global markets, was taking over, Trudeau told her. But he had another important job in mind for her: a cabinet role managing Canada’s suddenly fraught relations with the US and President-elect Donald Trump. It did not, however, come with running a government department.
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Freeland was having none of it. To her, this was a major demotion — one delivered over a Zoom call, no less. She spent the weekend agonizing over how to respond, according to people familiar with the course of events — stewing with the same frustration she had experienced in the summer, when reports emerged that Trudeau was courting Carney as her possible replacement. -Bloomberg
Meanwhile, Trudeau reshuffled his cabinet on Friday, days after Freeland's departure. Ontario MP David McGuinty was named Canada's minister of public safety, while Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has been named the new housing minister.
Amid this backdrop, Singh's declaration couldn’t be more dramatically timed to twist the knife. In a scathing open letter, he lambasted Trudeau’s leadership, painting the Liberal government as too entangled in internal conflicts and corporate interests to effectively govern. Sing's letter sets the stage for a potential early election if the no-confidence vote gathers steam across opposition benches.
As Singh points out, the cost of living and housing crises are hitting Canadians hard, and with Trump-era tariffs looming, economic pressures could intensify, making the political stakes even higher.
Political pundits suggest voter fatigue with the Liberals is palpable. A slew of recent polls underscores a grim forecast for Trudeau’s party, which could face a drubbing at the polls if an election were called today. The political landscape in Canada is crackling with anticipation of a shake-up as the NDP appears to pivot away from its previous support of the minority government, a move that could redraw the lines of allegiance within the House of Commons.
As January 27 looms, all eyes will be on Ottawa.