Justin Trudeau face of Liberals ‘for better or worse’ as party starts convention

Though some cabinet members and former central banker Mark Carney appear to have ambitions to lead the party after Justin Trudeau, no one has come out publicly against him.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will kick off what is likely to be the last Liberal Party convention before the next election on Thursday, and though fatigue with his government has deepened there is little question that he is fully in command of his party.

Trudeau will seek to rally some 3,500 Liberal members from across the country at 8 p.m. ET (2400 GMT) after 7 1/2 years as head of government and as much as two more years before the next vote, though most political analysts expect an election some time next year after the economy emerges from an expected slump.

Trudeau’s main rival, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, became leader of his party last year and since then has often led in polls as he systematically attacks both the government and its leader, recently for failing to head off the country’s biggest strike in history.

Some 57 per cent of Canadians disapprove of Trudeau, compared to an approval rating of 37 per cent, his lowest approval rating since September 2021, amid high inflation and a housing shortage, according to a March survey by the Angus Reid Institute.

Though some cabinet members and former central banker Mark Carney appear to have ambitions to lead the party after Trudeau, no one has come out publicly against him.

“Trudeau is the party brand, for better or worse,” said Shachi Kurl, president of Angus Reid research group.

Recently there has been a seemingly constant drip of damaging news – like the federal workers’ strike and allegations that the government took too lightly evidence of Chinese election meddling – that make Trudeau look vulnerable.

Some 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers are still on strike and plan to picket outside the convention hall when Trudeau speaks on Thursday evening. In the first quarter, Conservatives clobbered the Liberals in fund raising, pulling in $8.3 million versus $3.6 million.