'Not going anywhere': Canada's Trudeau says he won't resign as party leader amid growing presssure

After losing key allies, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he won’t resign as Liberal leader even if his party loses the high-stakes Montreal byelection. According to The Toronto Star, the elections in Montreal will be held on Monday, the same day Trudeau’s minority government will return to the parliament without the support of the NDP.

In an interview on the Montreal radio station CJAD 800, the Canadian premier made it clear that he would stay on regardless of the results of the by-election. When asked what it would mean if the Liberal party lost the contest, Trudeau emphasised that a defeat would mean that his party has to do a lot more work to convince voters to support them.

He also slammed his Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre and insisted that his rival would take actions to “harm Canadians” if they took power. “I’m not going anywhere,” Trudeau said. “I’ve got a fight to lead against people who want to hurt this country, who want to hurt our communities, and who want to take the country in directions that — quite frankly — are exactly the opposite of where the world needs to go.”

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Why the byelection in Montreal matters

The byelections in Montreal will be held in two sets, one of which is scheduled to take place on Monday. The polls are coming months after the Canadian PM is facing a wave of pressure over his leadership which became intense after the Liberal candidate lost to the Conservative in a byelection in Toronto—St. Paul’s, which had been a Liberal stronghold.

The defeat led to growing calls for Trudeau’s resignation from Liberals like former environment minister Catherine McKenna and former B.C. Premier Christy Clark, who told The Toronto Star that she’s not ruling out a future campaign for federal leadership. Hence, there’s a lot at stake for the Liberals in the upcoming by-elections.

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“If we lose the Montreal one, people are going to be up in arms,” one Liberal MP who asked to remain anonymous told the Canadian news outlet.

The polls are also being conducted a week after the New Democrats dropped out of an alliance with the Liberals. Trudeau insisted that he is excited to come back to the parliament despite the support from the NDP.