Trudeau has given no signal that he will voluntarily resign anytime soon.
According to multiple reports, Trudeau told Liberal MPs (MPs), including some who had directly called for his resignation, at an emergency meeting of his caucus after Freeland’s departure that he would take time to reflect.
And in a holiday speech to Liberal party members on Tuesday, he acknowledged that politics comes with “big challenges” but said “difficult times are not the time to stop. It’s the time to be ambitious and bold.”
Prime Minister Trudeau has been under pressure since the summer as his approval ratings plummeted and he lost a series of by-elections in once-safe Liberal seats, creating major problems for his party.
In October, he faced a small convention, with 24 lawmakers signing a letter calling for his resignation.
Opinion polls show that if Canada’s federal election were held today, the official opposition Conservative Party would win a decisive victory.
Trudeau persevered despite these difficulties and repeatedly pledged to run as Liberal leader again in the next election.
So far, only 13 of 153 Liberal MPs have publicly called for his departure, and nearly half of them are not seeking re-election themselves, according to tracking by CBC News.
But according to the party’s constitution, the leader’s position can be put to a formal vote by members only after the party has lost an election.
