Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, could lose that country’s upcoming snap election.
This was according to recent polls which showed that Trudeau’s Liberal Party was trailing the Conservative Party.
Canadians go to the polls on 20 September, after Trudeau called a snap election (the last election was held in 2019) to benefit from his government’s efficient vaccine rollout and cash transfers to Canadians.
However, his government’s deft handling of the Covid-19 pandemic may not translate to support at the polls, with many Canadians reportedly disagreeing with Trudeau’s decision to go to the polls during a pandemic.
Trudeau, who currently governs as the head of a minority government, will have been hoping for a majority in Parliament, but this now looks unlikely.
The Liberals currently hold 157 of the 338 seats in the Canadian Parliament, with the Conservatives at 121.
Current polls currently show that the Conservatives have the support of about a third of voters, with Trudeau’s Liberals at just under 30%.
Other parties which are likely to make it into the Canadian Parliament include the social democratic New Democratic Party, polling at about 20%; the French-Canadian interest party, the Bloc Quebecois, which has the support of about 5% of Canadians, and the Greens, also with the support of about five percent of those polled.
Current forecasts are that the Conservatives will win 145 seats and the Liberals 133, meaning that a coalition or minority government will govern Canada.