Political crisis in Canada: why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could resign as early as Monday ?

Under pressure from within his Liberal party, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could resign as early as Monday, January 6, according to media reports, as he faces the most serious political crisis since he came to power nine years ago.

According to newspapers The Globe and Mail andThe Toronto Star, sources within the Liberal party expect Mr. Trudeau to step down ahead of a national meeting of his party scheduled for Wednesday.

The announcement could be made within the next 24 hours, the sources told both newspapers in articles published Sunday.

Asked by AFP, the Prime Minister's office declined to comment on this information. Such an announcement would come just months before the next legislative elections, which are scheduled to be held by the end of October.

But it is unclear whether Mr. Trudeau, 53, will remain the interim leader of his party or whether he will immediately leave the post if he resigns as prime minister.

So far, Justin Trudeau, who had announced his intention to run again, is credited in the polls with being more than 20 points behind his Conservative rival, Pierre Poilievre.

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A minority in Parliament, he has been weakened by the withdrawal of his left-wing ally and growing discontent within his own party.

Popularity in free fall

Trudeau's popularity has waned in recent months as his government narrowly survived a series of no-confidence votes and his critics called for his resignation.

Chaos reigns in the capital Ottawa since the surprise resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who was at odds with Justin Trudeau over how to handle the looming economic war with the United States.

Donald Trump's remarks in recent weeks have deepened Canada's political crisis and sent shockwaves through the country. The country is scrambling to counter threats from Trump, who has promised to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico when he returns to power in January.

Mr. Trudeau traveled to Florida in November to meet with him at his Mar-a-Lago estate in an effort to avert a trade war.

But since then, Donald Trump, who will take office as President of the United States on January 20, has dealt Mr. Trudeau humiliating blows on social media, repeatedly calling him “governor” of Canada.

After nearly a decade in power, Justin Trudeau now suffers from low approval ratings, seen as responsible for the country's high inflation as well as the housing and public services crisis.

When he arrived in 2015, the entire world watched with interest, even admiration, the first steps in power of the young multilateralist leader who proclaimed that “Canada is back” on the scene international.

Eldest son of the charismatic Pierre Elliott Trudeau, former Prime Minister who died in 2000, Justin Trudeau searched for his path for a long time: amateur boxer, snowboard instructor, English and French teacher…

He finally followed in his father's footsteps and entered politics late in 2007, was elected MP for Montreal in 2008 and then leader of a Liberal Party in tatters in 2013.

As Prime Minister, he made Canada the second country in the world to legalize cannabis, introduced medical assistance in dying, a carbon tax, launched a public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and signed a modernized version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Alena).