Justin Trudeau reshuffles Cabinet amid rising leadership uncertainty

UPDATED: Dec 21, 2024 00:27 IST

TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chances of staying on in power have become more tenuous after the opposition party that backed his government for years announced it will vote no confidence in the government when Parliament resumes.

An embattled Trudeau reshuffled his Cabinet on Friday — but whether he will step aside in the coming days or weeks remains an open question.

Trudeau participated in the swearing-in ceremony and will chair a meeting with his new Cabinet later in the afternoon. He is not expected to speak publicly Friday as he mulls his future.

“He told us he had a difficult choice to make and that is the choice that he is facing at this time,” said Rachel Bendayan, the official languages minister.

Trudeau is facing rising discontent over his leadership, and the abrupt departure of his finance minister on Monday could be something he can’t recover from.

Parliament is now shut for the holidays until late next month, and a “no confidence” vote could be scheduled sometime afterward.

Because Trudeau’s Liberals do not hold an outright majority in Parliament, they have for years depended on the support of the leftist New Democratic Party to pass legislation and stay in power. But that support has vanished — NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has called on Trudeau to resign — and he made clear Friday the NDP will vote to bring down the government.

“No matter who is leading the Liberal Party, this government’s time is up. We will put forward a clear motion of non-confidence in the next sitting of the House of Commons,” Singh said in letter released just before Trudeau was to reshuffle his Cabinet.

The Liberals could delay Parliament’s return if Trudeau decides to not run in the next year’s election and allows for a party leadership race.

New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday that Trudeau has the “full support of his Cabinet” but acknowledged a rising number of Liberal members of Parliament want Trudeau to leave. He said Trudeau told them he is reflecting.

Lawmaker Rob Oliphant became the latest member of Parliament from Trudeau’s Liberal party to call for him to step aside. Oliphant said there should be a “robust, open leadership contest.”

“Our leader has become a key obstacle preventing many progressive voters who have supported our work from doing so again in the next election,” he said in a letter released Friday.

Trudeau replaced ministers who aren’t running again. And some ministers ended up having two roles after others suddenly left the Cabinet.

“I understand there is going to be a short runway. I’m not blind to that,” said Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Canada’s new housing minister.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said a reshuffle was necessary because of recent Cabinet departures.

“It might simply appear as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” Béland said.

Trudeau, who has led the country for nearly a decade, has become widely unpopular in recent years over a wide range of issues, including the high cost of living and rising inflation.

The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada.

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods if the government does not stem what he calls a flow of migrants and drugs in the United States — even though far fewer of each cross into the U.S. from Canada than from Mexico, which Trump has also threatened.

Canada’s Transport Minister Anita Anand, who on Friday added the role of minister of internal trade to her portfolio, said it won’t be good if the Liberal government is not united as it deals with Trump’s threats.

“I’ve chatted with the prime minister a number of times. I believe this is a moment where we need to stand united,” she said.

There is no mechanism for Trudeau’s party to force him out in the short term. He could say he will step aside when a new party leader is chosen, or his Liberal party could be forced from power by a “no confidence” vote in Parliament that would trigger an election that would very likely favor the opposing Conservative Party.

Concerns about Trudeau’s leadership were exacerbated Monday when Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s finance minister and deputy prime minister, resigned from the Cabinet. Freeland was highly critical of Trudeau’s handling of the economy in the face of steep tariffs threatened by Trump.

Shortly before Freeland announced her decision, the housing minister also quit.