Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that while he thinks of quitting his “crazy job” on a daily basis, he’s determined to stay on to fight Pierre Poilievre, who he claims wants to roll back rights for women and sexual minorities.
Trudeau made the comments in a French CBC interview Friday.
They come as the Liberals continue to perform poorly in the polls, which now predict Poilievre is on track to win a massive majority government.
“I’m thinking of leaving every day,” said Trudeau. “It’s a crazy job that I am doing… the sacrifices on a personal level, if I didn’t doubt what I do almost every day, I wouldn’t be human.”
“It’s super tough, it’s super (not great).”
Trudeau, however, added that the next election will be “fundamental,” and that he’s determined to fight amid what he sees as a rise in “extreme populism.”
“The choice that Canadians will make in a year’s time in the elections is going to be so fundamental,” said Trudeau.
“Are we going to be a country that chooses to go backwards in the fight against climate change, to go backwards on women’s rights and the rights of LGBT communities? Because that’s all the Conservatives are proposing.”
Trudeau also said it’s “very important” for him to remain prime minister, as “the track we’re on is so precarious, democracies are so under attack around the world with extreme populism and international attacks.”
“That’s why I got into politics, not to be popular, not for personal reasons, but because I want to serve and I know that I have something to offer,” he said. “I couldn’t be the man I am and give up the fight at this time.”
At a rally in Fredericton Saturday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre mocked Trudeau, saying “Canadians are not the only ones suffering, Justin Trudeau has it very tough.”
“You hear about this? He’s a little bit bored … incredible this quote, I gotta read these quotes here today. He said this in French in an interview with Rad Can, he said, ‘I think about quitting every day.’ Isn’t that funny? We think about firing him every day.”
There has been debate over how Trudeau described his job.
Trudeau used the French word “plate” to describe being prime minister. The term is a Quebec slang that is a common way to say either “boring,” “a bummer” or “a disappointment.”
A BBC article originally reported it as “boring,” but later changed it to “challenging.”
True North reached out to Trudeau’s office for clarification on what he meant when he used the term, but did not receive a reply.
However, Trudeau staffer Supriya Dwivedi noted on X (formerly Twitter) that the original BBC translation to “boring” was inaccurate.