Lone Manitoba Liberal MP to call for Trudeau's resignation sees hope for unpopular party
Political observers say otherwise, noting success for new party leader will mean less disastrous defeat
The lone Manitoba Liberal MP who called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign said the prorogation of Parliament and the coming party leadership race will give the unpopular Liberals a chance to reconnect with Canadian voters.
Political observers in Manitoba are far less optimistic about the Liberals' prospects in a federal election that Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party is widely expected to win.
Winnipeg South Centre MP Ben Carr, who called on Trudeau to resign three days before the prime minister declared Monday he will indeed step down, said his party has a chance to improve its fortunes once "the distraction" about its leadership is over.
"It's an opportunity for us as a party and as a country to move forward," Carr said Monday in an interview.
"The noise that has surrounded some of the challenges that the party has faced in the last number of months will be behind us, and we have a chance to re-engage with Canadians."
Carr, one of four Manitoba Liberal MPs, stated last week Canadians have lost confidence in Trudeau but not Liberal policies, such as the expansion of pharmacare and the national school food program.
Trudeau said he will step down once a successor as Liberal leader is chosen in a party leadership race.
Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba, said this contest will end up with a leader for whom success will be defined as staving off the devastation that ultimately destroyed the federal Progressive Conservatives following the resignation of former prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1993.
In the ensuing election, the Tories suffered a historic defeat and were reduced to two seats across Canada. The PCs finished fifth among Canadian parties in two subsequent federal elections and dissolved altogether in 2003.
Trudeau is even less popular "than Mulroney was in his worst days," Thomas said Monday in an interview, suggesting a tough slog ahead for his successor and Liberals overall.
"It's about the size of their defeat rather than whether they'll lose power or not," Thomas said. "It seems almost certain now."
Poilievre said Monday in a statement Trudeau's resignation changes nothing, and said Liberal MPs could have acted sooner to trigger the prime minister's departure.
Thomas said those MPs now have 10 weeks to replace a lame-duck leader with someone who can more credibly face U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose crushing tariffs on imports from Canada and has joked about the end of Canadian sovereignty.
"They need a break. They need some time to get their act together to deal with Trump. They need to sort out their internal divisions because those are real," he said.
Manitobans who cannot wait to see Trudeau leave Rideau Cottage do not feel the same way about the prorogation.
"In the period between now and his resignation, a lot of damage can be done to this country," said Winkler-based long-haul trucker Karl Krebs, a podcaster who witnessed the convoy protest in 2022.
"I think this is just another example of a selfish politician desperately hanging onto control, hoping to serve his own best interests."
A handful of Winnipeggers approached by CBC News in Carr's riding on Monday expressed other emotions about Trudeau's departure and what comes next.
"I'm sad. He's worked very hard and he's a fighter. What are we going to end up with? Some loser. That's what I feel," Katie Whitford said in Osborne Village.
Stu Fawcett said the resignation had to happen.
"I don't know it's going to make a difference for the future of the Liberal Party in this next election, but the party demanded it, I think the people demanded it, and he did what he had to do," he said.
WATCH | Manitobans react to Trudeau's decision to step down as prime minister:
Manitoba political leaders, meanwhile, reacted to Trudeau's resignation announcement by thanking the prime minister for his service.
In separate scrums with reporters, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew pledged to work with Trudeau's successor as Liberal leader and prime minister.
Carr said Canadians should get a say about the latter after the prorogation of Parliament is slated to end on March 24.
"We will come back with a new throne speech once a new leader has been selected, and then I suspect there'll be an election sooner rather than later," he said.
"Ultimately, as always should be the case in a democracy, Canadians will decide what direction they want the country to move in."