Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would like you to believe that Canadians are undecided about his re-election, despite plummeting approval from the public.
During an interview with CBC host David Cohrane, Trudeau was asked about the “angry” state of the country, as more and more Canadians grow frustrated with inflation and the high cost of living.
“The country is still angry, you can see it in the mood,” said Cochrane. “Increasingly prime minister, a lot of them are mad at you. I know you say you want to beat Pierre Poilievre, you keep coming back to that but what if you are the reason the Liberals can’t beat the Conservatives in the next election? Where do you factor that in?”
First of all,” replied Trudeau. “Canadians are not in a decision mode right now. What you tell a pollster, if they ever manage to reach you, is very different from the choice Canadians end up making in an election campaign.”
He then went on to say that “everywhere, people are struggling” with a myriad of issues like interest rates, child care, housing and others but that “we are doing better than most countries.”
Trudeau then accused the Conservatives of being the real reason Canadians were so angry, even though the party hasn’t been in power for the past nine years.
“I truly believe that as we step up on solving those challenges, to contrast with a political vision that so far, consists from the Conservatives, of making Canadians more angry and saying ‘everything’s broken.’”
For the past year, the Conservatives have held a commanding lead in the polls over the Liberals, with a recent Abacus survey giving them a 20-point lead over the governing party.
Trudeau personally has a poor approval rating, with the same poll finding that 58% of Canadians surveyed held a negative opinion of him.
“If an election were held today, 44% of committed voters would vote Conservatives with the Liberals at 24%, the NDP at 17%,” reads the survey from April. “This 20-point lead is the largest we have ever measured for the Conservatives and the first time the Conservative vote share has hit 44% nationally.”
While the next federal election won’t be until October 2025, the riding of Toronto–St. Paul’s is slated for a byelection next week.
It’s been a Liberal stronghold since the 1990s, however, for the first time in nearly 30 years the Liberals are at risk of losing a key political battleground.
“It feels like a must-win for your party though, is it fair to describe it as that?” asked Cochrane.
“I think every electoral contest is a must-win for any political party,” responded Trudeau.According to the latest 338Canada poll, the Liberals are projected to win the riding, but they are only ahead of the Conservatives by a small margin, who have steadily been gaining favourability in Toronto – St. Paul’s since 2019.