The snap election called for by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won.
Ottawa:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed in his bid to win a Liberal majority government after a low-energy campaign in the middle of the pandemic, and party insiders see a growing possibility that he will step down before the next vote .
Trudeau, 49, sought to take advantage of his government’s handling of COVID-19 by calling Monday’s election two years ago. But the provisional results showed that he brought in another minority administration, which would force him to work with opposition legislators once again.
Four senior liberals said there was no sign of a coordinated move to oust Trudeau, who has tightly controlled a party known for its past bouts.
But missing his target in his third election cast immediate doubt on the future of his leadership and may have prompted him to leave of his own free will. For more than 100 years, no prime minister has won four consecutive elections. Trudeau’s father tried and failed in 1979.
“It’s his party at the moment, we’re his party,” said one Liberal, who helped run the campaign and requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
“I’m not sure I’d want to run again if it were him… you really don’t want to spoil your welcome to such an extent that your successor becomes useless at the next election.”
Possible successors include Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, two heavyweight cabinet members.
Trudeau, a charismatic progressive and the son of former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau, came to power in 2015. After six years in office, voters looked at the Liberal leader with fatigue.
move to move
Three well-known sources said Trudeau decided to take a snap vote during the June 1 session after opposition legislators blocked his budget and other bills.
One Liberal said, “The events of June made it clear that we have to go to the election in the summer. It was very painful – we could not go through that phase again.”
But from the day Trudeau called on August 15, he has had trouble dealing with the opposition’s allegations that it was a power grab.
338.com analyst Philippe Fournier said, “(by voters). Trudeau said, ‘I have good numbers. I can go to the polls,’ not realizing that he had good numbers because there was no election.” There were numbers.” political website.
Other insiders said Trudeau and his inner circle failed to realize that the people he would need to campaign were exhausted after fighting COVID-19 for 15 months.
Halfway through, a second Liberal said campaign workers were “just so tired, they don’t care whether they win or lose.”
In response, Trudeau spokesman Cameron Ahmed said, “The campaign staff worked incredibly hard every step of the way, as they always do.” He did not address questions about Trudeau’s future or whether the early election call was a mistake.
A senior strategist said the door-knockers were taking unhappiness with Trudeau.
Nevertheless, Liberal campaign officials initially expressed little concern, even as Trudeau’s numbers began to decline in August.
The third Liberal said, “These first two weeks are just froth, nothing in it. No one is paying much attention.”
Asked about the minority, the first Liberal said: “It is what it is.. the Canadians decided this is what they wanted.”
Trudeau himself caused more fatigue than enthusiasm among the public.
“The problem was, from the very beginning, we were like ‘Why are you calling an unnecessary election in the middle of a pandemic? never came up with a good answer to the obvious question of the U.S.” one liberal strategist said at the end of the campaign as it became clear the majority was not on the cards.
After the election, the Liberals outlined a possible scenario in which Trudeau would make clear that he intended to keep the government alive for at least three years, allowing him to look after his future while looking after children and battling climate change. Time to focus on priorities like
Trudeau is due to speak publicly this week and may give details about what he plans.
A senior adviser and a senior lawmaker said Trudeau did not want to stay in power forever but would fight a fourth campaign if the government collapsed before he could pursue important parts of his agenda.
Minority governments usually last about 18 months but could theoretically last up to four years if no one brings them down.
Last election?
Trudeau, who has three young children, became a Liberal legislator in 2008 and took over the leadership in 2013 at a time when his future looked bleak. Two years later, he became the first Canadian leader to lead a party from third place to victory.
“The main question becomes, is he having fun? I don’t think the next phase of this pandemic is going to be fun, I don’t think our financial situation is going to be fun,” said another well-appointed advisor With Trudeau likely to make a decision in early 2023, he will go out 50-50.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this was Trudeau’s last election.. It’s hard to win three in a row,” said Tamara Smalls, a professor of political science at the University of Guelph.
The Conservatives, who have now lost three consecutive elections, may again seek a new leader.
Although the Conservatives won more popular votes than the Liberals in a second election in a row, Trudeau’s lock on Toronto ensured that he went ahead.
The Liberals and New Democrats led by Jagmeet Singh – who favor heavy spending on social programs – have a comfortable majority in the 338-seat House of Commons.
Waiting for her son to speak after falling short of a majority target, his mother, Margaret Trudeau, with whom he is very close, was confident that a minority government would work.
“You don’t want too much power to end up somewhere, do you?” he told reporters. “I know Jagmeet is a wonderful person, just as kind as Justin.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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