Embattled Trudeau expected to resign

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may resign anytime soon, according to media reports, as he faces mounting dissent within his Liberal party.

National newspapers The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star reported that sources inside Trudeau's party expect him to step down ahead of their national caucus tomorrow.

The announcement may be made in the coming 24 hours, sources said on Sunday.

Trudeau's office declined to comment on the reports.

Trudeau's departure would leave his party without a leader just a few months before the next legislative elections, scheduled to be held by the end of October.

It is unclear whether Trudeau, 53, would remain as his party's interim leader or would vacate immediately if he tendered his resignation as prime minister.

Trudeau's popularity has waned in recent months, with his government narrowly surviving a series of no-confidence votes and critics calling for his resignation.

He has vowed to stay on to guide the Liberals to elections but has faced further pressure from incoming United States president Donald Trump, who has threatened a 25-percent tariff on Canadian goods.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland quit in December after disagreeing with Trudeau over how to respond to Trump. Trudeau then announced a major shakeup to his cabinet, changing a third of his team in a bid to settle the political turmoil.

He had traveled to Florida in November to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in a bid to head off a trade war. But the US president-elect has since also landed humiliating blows against Trudeau on social media, calling him "governor" of Canada and declaring that the United States' northern neighbor becoming the 51st US state is a "great idea."

Trudeau swept to power in 2015 and led the Liberals to two more victories in 2019 and 2021.

But he now trails his main rival, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, by 20 points in public opinion polls.

The eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau came late to politics after working as a snowboard instruc tor, bartender, bouncer and teacher.

Hebrought in Senate reforms, signed a new trade deal with the US and introduced a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also legalized cannabis, held a public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and passed legislation permitting medically assisted suicide.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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