Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing a major crisis after a shocking electoral upset.
Mr Trudeau has been serving as Prime Minister of Canada since 2015 and as leader of the Liberal Party since 2013.
But as the next general election in his country has to take place by autumn next year, the Canadian leader has been trailing behind his main political opponent, the leader of the Canada’s Conservatives Pierre Poilievre, for months.
A projection of the popular vote by 338Canada last updated on July 7 shows the Conservatives ahead with 42 percent, followed by Mr Trudeau’s party at 24 percent.
Another projection, this time focused on how many seats the major Canadian parties could each earn, suggests the Conservatives could elect 213 MPs – well beyond the 172-seat majority required. The Liberals would elect just 72 MPs, according to this projection.
Canadian voters also provided a strong signal to the Liberal Party last month, when the party lost the key Toronto seat to the Conservatives at the by-election held on June 24.
A few days later, backbencher Wayne Long became the first sitting member of the ruling Liberal Party to call on Mr Trudeau to resign.
In an email to fellow party members obtained by Canadian media outlets, Mr Long said the Liberals needed a new leadership “for the future of our party and for the good of our country”. Voters, he added, “have spoken loud and clear and they want a change”.
Canadians believe Mr Trudeau will not step down before the election, according to a Leger poll conducted online of 1,521 people between June 28 and 30.
This week, the Canadian Prime Minister joined world leaders in Washington DC for the ongoing NATO summit, where he spoke among other issues of Canada’s reaching the alliance’s spending target.
The country is falling far shy of the two percent of GDP target NATO members are required to meet – but it has pledged to share a plan for meeting this goal.
Speaking in Washington, Mr Trudeau said: “When we took office, Canada was spending less than one per cent of our GDP on defence each year, but we vowed to change that, and we have followed through on our word.”
