Trudeau faces calls to resign

Toronto, Dec. 19: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces growing pressure to resign from his own Liberal Party after his top minister abruptly quit and criticized his handling of the budget. Trudeau has led the country for nearly a decade, but has become widely unpopular in recent years over a wide range of issues, including the high cost of living and rising inflation.

There is no mechanism for Trudeau's party to force him out in the short-term. He could resign, or his party could be forced from power by a “no confidence” vote in Parliament that would trigger an election that would very likely favour the opposing Conservative Party.

If his party were to survive a vote in Parliament — which seems increasingly unlikely — Trudeau could choose to stay on as prime minister until there is an election.

As rising numbers of Liberal lawmakers called Tuesday for Trudeau to resign, the country’s minister of natural resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, said “we all need to give him a little time to reflect.”

Here's a deeper look at the possible paths for Trudeau and Canada.

If Trudeau resigns, which political analysts consider a likely scenario, the Liberals would need to choose an interim prime minister to lead the country at least until elections are held.

It isn't clear yet who the most likely candidate would be for any interim role.

Longer term, a person likely to seek power in the Liberal Party post-Trudeau is Mark Carney, the former head of the Bank of Canada, and later the Bank of England. Carney has long been interested in entering politics and becoming prime minister.

Another possible candidate is Trudeau’s new finance minister, Dominic LeBlanc. The former public safety minister, and a close friend of Trudeau, LeBlanc recently joined the prime minister at a dinner with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Concerns about Trudeau's leadership were exacerbated Monday when Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister, quit his Cabinet. 

Freeland was highly critical of Trudeau's handling of the economy in the face of steep tariffs threatened by Trump. Shortly before Freeland announced her decision, the country's housing minister also quit.

“My guess is that if another minister or two goes, he’s toast, he will be forced to resign," said Canadian historian Robert Bothwell.

With voters deeply unhappy, Parliament has the authority to try to knock Trudeau's Liberal party from power by holding a “no confidence” vote that would trigger an early election. And if a majority of Parliament votes against his government, Trudeau would then be “erased in the election,” Bothwell said.(AP)