Chrystia Freeland’s resignation from cabinet and another byelection loss in B.C. earlier this week rocked the Liberal Party on Parliament Hill. The calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign are coming from all directions – even from his own MPs.
A new poll released by the Angus Reid Institute finds that Trudeau has seen his approval rate fall four points between January and December to just 28 per cent. This is tied for his lowest point in public opinion, after more than nine years in the nation’s top job.
Other federal party leaders aren’t faring much better. Both CPC leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh are viewed unfavourably by more than half of Canadians and have the favourable opinion of fewer than two-in-five:
While Trudeau sunk to his lowest point in 2024, generating a -40 in net approval (approval minus disapproval), Poilievre holds a -18 net favourability. This mark grew by eight points throughout the year. In a year where he ended his party’s Supply and Confidence Agreement with the governing Liberals, Singh saw his net favourability drop from -4 to -16, the largest negative movement of any leader:
“Like most families, sometimes we have fights around the holidays,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a speech to the Liberal Party’s holiday event a day after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland had quit her post on what was supposed to be the day she delivered the federal government’s Fall Economic Statement.
Fewer than three-in-ten (28%) Canadians approve of Trudeau’s performance as prime minister. His approval has not reached higher than one-third since September 2023.
The Conservatives under leader Pierre Poilievre have gained voter support, but views of Poilievre himself remain more negative than positive. Fewer than two-in-five (37%) say they have a favourable view of the CPC leader, outnumbered by the majority of Canadians (55%) who do not. And the latter proportion has grown throughout 2024, despite the Conservatives’ popularity among the electorate currently.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has enjoyed a five-point bump from his nadir of 33 per cent in September, but still ends the year down six points. Singh and his party ended the Supply and Confidence Agreement with Trudeau’s Liberals in September, but have continued to support legislation, including the Liberal’s GST holiday. That said, he also pushed the government to split off a $250 rebate cheque into a separate bill after he claimed too many people would be exempted from the cheque as originally proposed. Singh has recently stated that Trudeau “has to go”.
So, what does this all mean for Canada’s political landscape? Many have touted Crystia Freeland as the last hope for the Liberal Party to hold on to power on Parliament Hill, but she has said nothing about aspiring to party leadership. A new book titled “Chrystia: From Peace River to Parliament Hill” has been released months ahead of schedule in light of this week’s bombshell resignation from cabinet.
Justin Trudeau made a few appearances in Northern Ontario in 2024 including a two-day visit to Sault Ste. Marie in August. However, the embattled prime minister has cancelled all of his traditional year-end media interviews after the caucus shakeup. The House of Commons is now on a holiday break, giving Trudeau a few weeks to decide his next move before MPs return to Ottawa on January 27th.
Survey Methodology
The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, 2024 among a representative randomized sample of 4,004 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.
