Canadian PM Justin Trudeau expected to call early election
15 August 2021, 02:44
He will announce the election for September 20, an official familiar with the plans said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to the governor general’s residence on Sunday and is expected to dissolve Parliament and trigger an early election.
It comes as he seeks to capitalise on Canada being one of the most fully vaccinated countries in the world.
Mr Trudeau’s itinerary shows he will visit the governor general, who holds a mostly ceremonial position representing the Queen as head of state, on Sunday morning.
He will announce the election for September 20, an official familiar with the plans told The Associated Press.
Mr Trudeau is seeking to win a majority of seats in Parliament after his Liberal party fell just short of that two years ago and must rely on the opposition to pass legislation.
The election comes as Canada is in the midst of a fourth wave of Covid-19 cases, driven by the delta variant of the coronavirus.
Mr Trudeau is less personally popular than he once was but his government’s handling of the pandemic has been widely viewed as a success.
After a slow start, Canada now has enough vaccine for every citizen and his government spent hundreds of billions of dollars to prop up the economy amid lockdowns.
Mr Trudeau, the son of the late Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, became the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history when he was first elected with a majority of seats in Parliament in 2015.
The victory ended almost 10 years of Conservative Party government in Canada, but scandals combined with high expectations have damaged Mr Trudeau’s standing.
