Canadian opposition party says it wants to topple Trudeau’s government in Parliament
MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec (AP) — A Quebec nationalist party said Tuesday it will work with other opposition parties in Canada’s Parliament to topple Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’ s minority government.
Trudeau’s Liberals have only 153 seats in the 338-seat House of Commons and must rely on an opposition party to pass legislation. With the parliamentary election approaching and Trudeau hoping for a fourth term, his party has been trailing the Conservatives in polls with Canadians feeling frustrated by the rising cost of living, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Trudeau’s “days are numbered” after the Liberals failed to meet his demand to boost old age security payments for seniors. However, the party will need the leftist New Democratic Party and the Conservatives — who are eager to force an election — to take down Trudeau’s Liberals.
The NDP has been supporting Trudeau’s Liberals but their leader recently announced it would decide based on each proposed bill.
Trudeau said last week he will lea d his Liberal Party into the next federal election — which could come any time between this fall and October 2025 — dismissing a request by some members of his own party not to run again. The party recently suffered upsets in special elections in two districts in Toronto and Montreal that it has held for years, raising doubts about the prime minister’s leadership.
The Conservatives have also been leading in the latest Nanos Research poll 39% to 26%, with the NDP following at 20%. The poll of 1,047 respondents has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, according to the Canadian public opinion and research company.
“The NDP does not want an election now because it fears struggling to retain the seats it currently holds,” said Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. “The party’s upside is still limited. It is hoping that the unpopular Trudeau stays and that it overtakes his Liberals in the polls.”
Trudeau channeled the star power of his father in 2015 when he reasserted the country’s liberal identity after almost 10 years of Conservative rule. But the son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is now in trouble.
No Canadian prime minister has won four straight terms in over 100 years.
By ROB GILLIES
Associated Press
