The reelection of Donald Trump as president of the United States is not good news for Canada's ruling Liberals. Even if the government finds a way to navigate the mercurial Trump – a big “if” – it’s unlikely voters will recognize the accomplishment and premise their vote on it.
A letter signed by two dozen Liberal MPs asking Trudeau to step down was presented to the prime minister Wednesday at a tense caucus meeting in Ottawa.
Liberal MPs were tight-lipped about what happened behind the closed doors but those who did speak with reporters as they left the meeting also said the party is united.
While members of the cabinet have defended Trudeau staying on as leader, a number of Liberal MPs have signed onto a letter that aims to convince him to step aside before the next election.
The Trudeau Liberal government is the most progressive federal government in Canadian history, though hardly the left-wing regime of Conservative Party rhetoric.
The PM said it's important to invest in people by moving forward with $10 a day child care, dental care and pharmacare so that diabetes medication and prescription contraception will be free.
The poor Liberal performance in the last three byelections don’t doom them to failure, but they do suggest that rumours of the party’s coming demise aren’t exaggerated.
Trudeau has not yet commented on the loss, but it is the second time in three months that his party lost a stronghold in a byelection. In June the Conservatives defeated the Liberals narrowly in Toronto-St. Paul's.
Trudeau is in Halifax for a three-day cabinet retreat preparing for the upcoming fall sitting of Parliament, and the time for him to woo voters is becoming increasingly narrow.