OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to survive a second parliamentary confidence motion in less than a week on Tuesday after opposition parties vowed to keep his minority Liberal government alive for now.
Trudeau, facing increasing voter fatigue after almost nine years in power, easily brushed off a move by the official opposition Conservative Party to bring him down last Thursday.
The right-of-center Conservatives quickly proposed another confidence motion, which the House of Commons is due to vote on at around 3.30 p.m. ET (1930 GMT) on Tuesday.
The Conservatives, who have a big lead in the polls ahead of an election that must be held by end-October 2025, need the backing of every single opposition legislator to succeed.
But the separatist Bloc Quebecois, which wants independence for the province of Quebec, said last week it would back Trudeau until at least the end of this month in return for boosting seniors’ pensions.
Even if the Bloc does turn against Trudeau, he could still be saved by the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP).
A Nanos poll released on Sept 27 showed the Conservatives on 42 percent public support, far ahead of the NDP on 22 percent and the Liberals on 21 percent. Given this would result in a huge Conservative victory if replicated in an election, the NDP could be tempted to keep Trudeau in power, in the hope its own fortunes might recover.