Canada's Trudeau to Reshuffle Cabinet Amid Calls for Resignation and Growing Discontent

TORONTO – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will reshuffle his Cabinet on Friday.

The prime minister's office confirmed late Thursday that Trudeau will participate in the swearing-in ceremony and hold a meeting with his new Cabinet later on Friday.

Trudeau is facing growing dissatisfaction with his leadership, and the sudden departure of his finance minister on Monday could be something he will never recover from.

A growing number of Liberal lawmakers are calling for Trudeau to resign, but new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday that Trudeau “has the full support of his Cabinet.”

LeBlanc said he respects the views of Liberal lawmakers who want Trudeau to resign.

“That's the idea they're expressing. The prime minister listened carefully when he was given that idea,” said LeBlanc. “He listened, in some cases answering certain things that were raised, he said he would think carefully.”

LeBlanc said the government will remain focused on work and dealing with President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian products when he is inaugurated next month.

“We don't have to look inside. We shouldn't worry about ourselves,” said LeBlanc.

LeBlanc said he will meet with Tom Homan, Trump's incoming “border governor,” after Christmas to discuss Canada's border security plan as part of a bid to avoid tariffs.

Trudeau has led the country for nearly a decade, but has fallen out of favor in recent years on a number of issues, including the high cost of living and inflation.

There is no way Trudeau's party will force him out in the short term. He could resign, or his Liberal party could be forced from power by a vote of “no confidence” in Parliament that would trigger an election that could favor the opposition Conservative Party.

With a growing number of Liberal MPs calling for Trudeau to resign this week, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said, “We all need to give him a little time to think.”

Concerns about Trudeau's leadership deepened Monday when Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau's finance minister and deputy prime minister, resigned from Cabinet. Freeland was highly critical of Trudeau's handling of the economy in the face of Trump's threat of higher spending. Just before Freeland announced his decision, the housing minister also quit.

Because Trudeau's Liberals have no direct majority in Parliament, they have for years relied on the support of the leftist New Democratic Party to pass legislation and stay in power. But that support has disappeared — the NDP leader has called on Trudeau to resign — and that could pave the way for Parliament to vote “no confidence.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, however, would not commit to bringing down the government at the earliest opportunity because Trump could impose crippling tariffs and Parliament would need to respond with tariffs in retaliation.

Parliament is now closed for holidays until the end of next month, and a vote of “no confidence” could be scheduled sometime after that.

“It looks like Trudeau is going to step down, but nobody knows exactly when,” said Nelson Wiseman, an emeritus professor at the University of Toronto. “The need to fill vacant positions and relieve other ministers from holding multiple positions is the reason for the agitation but it will not increase the Liberal party's voting numbers; it is too late for that to happen.”

LeBlanc also said that Mark Carney will not join the Cabinet. Trudeau has been trying to recruit Carney, a former head of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, to join his government. Carney has long been interested in entering politics and becoming leader of the Liberal Party.

“Mr. “Carney is not interested in being Canada's finance minister in the short term,” said LeBlanc. “The prime minister asked me to start that work and prepare the budget in the spring.”