Canada’s Justin Trudeau rejects resignation calls from own MPs, vows to lead Liberal Party in next election

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday that he will be leading the Liberal Party into the next election after he was asked to step down by some party members.

Justin Trudeau is running for his fourth term as prime minister. No Canadian prime minister in more than a century has won four consecutive terms.

On Wednesday, PM Trudeau held a three-hour-long meeting with his party members, where 20 Liberal lawmakers presented a letter asking him to step down before the next election.

Justin Trudeau said after “robust conversations” they would go forward with him leading the party into the general elections once again. He also enjoys the support of the vast majority of the 153 Liberal Party members of the House of Commons.

Sean Casey, who was one of the signatories of the letter asking Trudeau to step down, said he was disappointed Trudeau dismissed the plea but said it was ultimately his decision to go forward as the leader of the party. Casey said Trudeau listened but he wasn’t swayed.

“This was a decision he had every right to make and he made it,” Casey told news agency AP. “I did my job in voicing what I was hearing from constituents and now I have to direct my energy to winning my seat and not internal party matters. As far as I’m concerned it is closed.”

Doubts about Trudeau’s leadership emerged after recent losses in two districts in Toronto and Montreal in special elections. The Liberal party must also rely on the support at least one major party in Parliament, as they don’t hold an outright majority themselves..

The leader of the opposition Bloc Québécois has said his party will work with the Conservatives and the New Democratic Party to defeat the Liberal Party and force an election if the government doesn’t boost pensions.

The federal election could be announced anytime from now till next October.

Currently, the Liberals trail the Conservatives by 38 per cent to 25 per cent in the latest Nanos poll, reported AP.