Timeline: The rise and fall of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's political fortunes
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces an uncertain future after the small party that has helped keep his Liberal minority government in power withdrew its automatic support on Wednesday.
The blow is the latest in a series of political woes and missteps that have helped reduce Trudeau's popularity.
Recent polls show his Liberals would be crushed by the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be held by the end of October 2025.
The withdrawal of the left-leaning New Democratic Party from its agreement with the Liberals could bring forward an election months earlier.
Here is a timeline of key events charting the arc of Trudeau's fortunes in Canadian federal politics:
OCTOBER 2013
Wins race to become leader of LIberal Party
Newly-elected Liberal leader Justin Trudeau arrives to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 15, 2013 (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
Trudeau, the son of former Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, won the leadership of his party at a time when it was at an all-time low. The Liberals, out of power for more than seven years at that point, had been reduced to third-place status in the House of Commons in 2011 for the first time.
OCTOBER 2015
Leads party to victory in federal election
Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau addresses supporters at a welcome rally the day after winning the federal election, in Ottawa on Oct. 20, 2015 (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand)
Trudeau's Liberals, campaigning on a message of change and hope, won a majority of the seats in the federal election, defeating the Conservatives. It was the first time the third-placed party in the House of Commons had ever won an election in Canada.
DECEMBER 2017
Found guilty of conflict of interest
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with the Aga Khan on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 17, 2016 (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
Canada's ethics commissioner ruled that Trudeau had broken conflict of interest rules by accepting vacations, gifts and flights from the Aga Khan in 2016. It was the first time a prime minister had been found to have committed such a transgression.
FEBRUARY 2019
SNC-Lavalin scandal
Independent MPs and former cabinet ministers Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould speak to reporters before Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 3, 2019 (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)
Former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould accused government officials of inappropriately pressuring her to help construction giant SNC-Lavalin avoid a corruption trial. The affair prompted the resignations of top Trudeau aide Gerry Butts, Wilson-Raybould, and Michael Wernick, the head of the federal bureaucracy.
Public Works Minister Jane Philpott also quit, citing a loss of confidence in Trudeau. The loss of Wilson-Raybould and Philpott was politically damaging for a prime minister who had constantly described himself as a feminist.
In August, the ethics commissioner ruled that Trudeau and his officials had breached ethics rules. Trudeau took responsibility but refused to apologize.
SEPTEMBER 2019
Blackface scandal erupts ahead of election
Shortly after the 2019 election campaign began, photos emerged of Trudeau wearing blackface when he was younger. Trudeau, a strong advocate for multiculturalism, apologized and said his life of privilege had come with a "blind spot."
OCTOBER 2019
Liberals reduced to minority in House
In the Oct. 21, 2019 election, the Liberals were reduced to a minority in the House of Commons, obliging them to strike deals with opposition legislators to govern.
AUGUST 2020
Finance minister resigns
Minister of Finance Bill Morneau replaces his mask as he leaves after announcing his resignation at a news conference on Parliament Hill on Aug. 17, 2020 (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)
Finance Minister Bill Morneau resigned amid friction with Trudeau over how much funding was needed to help Canada recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Morneau had also come under fire for his ties to a charity tapped to run a student grant program.
SEPTEMBER 2021
Failed bid to win back majority in House
Elections in Canada are supposed to be held every four years, but Trudeau triggered a national vote for Sept. 20, 2021 in the hope that the electorate would reward his government for the way it had handled the pandemic. The bid failed, and he was returned with a second successive minority.
JULY 2023
Polls show Liberals steadily losing popularity
Polls showed the Liberals only slightly trailing the Conservatives in the first half of 2023. In July, amid growing signs of voter fatigue, the gap suddenly widened, and it became increasingly clear a defeat was likely in 2025.
JUNE 2024
Liberals suffer bad defeat in special election
In a clear sign of the Liberals' growing unpopularity, the party lost one of its safest seats in a special election in Toronto. Trudeau made clear he would stay in office amid fresh questions about his future.
SEPT 2024
Key ally withdraws automatic support
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 14, 2019 (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
The New Democrats, who had kept Trudeau in power in return for increased social spending, announced they would withdraw their automatic support. This will force Trudeau to attempt to create new alliances to govern.
Editing by Frank McGurty and Paul Simao
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre supports Israel 'proactively striking' Iranian nuclear sites to defend itself
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is supporting Israel's right to defend itself against Iran following last week's ballistic missile attack, saying that right includes 'proactively striking Iranian nuclear sites and oil installations to defund the terrorist regime.'
Hurricane Milton strengthens into a Category 5 storm. Florida orders evacuations
Florida's storm-battered Gulf Coast raced against a Category 5 hurricane Monday as workers sprinted to pick up heaps of appliances and other street debris left over from Helene two weeks ago and highways were clogged with people fleeing ahead of the storm.
'Selfish billionaire': Chip Wilson's mansion vandalized after political sign erected outside
Days after a political sign was erected outside Lululemon founder Chip Wilson's Vancouver mansion, the waterfront property has been vandalized with graffiti.
'Feel free to get naked,' witness testifies Toronto councillor told her during 'networking' weekend
Toronto Coun. Michael Thompson 'forced himself on' a woman who awoke to find him standing over her after she fell asleep drunk, the Crown alleged Monday, as the five-day sexual assault trial of the six-term politician began in Bracebridge, Ont.
Is Disney World still open as Hurricane Milton strengthens to a Category 5?
Despite Hurricane Milton evolving into a Category 5 storm, Walt Disney World Resort remains open to the public and will operate as normal. However, the park announced Monday a few closures in an abundance of caution.
Disgraced former Winnipeg football coach sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual assault
A disgraced Winnipeg high school football coach convicted of sexual assault and luring will spend 20 years behind bars.
Two people injured in apparent road rage incident, shooting in Toronto
Two people are in hospital after they were chased and shot at in what appears to be an act of road rage before eventually flipping their car while trying to escape, police say.
Sammy Basso, longest living survivor of rare rapid-aging disease progeria, dies at 28
Sammy Basso, who was the longest living survivor of the rare genetic disease progeria, has died at the age of 28, the Italian Progeria Association said on Sunday.
Prayers, protests and police as Canada marks anniversary of Oct. 7 Hamas attack
With prayers, protests, and a heavy police presence, Canada has marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and triggered an ongoing war.
Local Spotlight
Video shows meteor streaking across Ontario
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
Rare cloud formations ripple the sky over Ottawa
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
'It’s unbelievable': N.B. man brings Batmobile to superhero fanatic
Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
After four decades of business, Bubi's serves its last meal
Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
New Far North hospital moves closer to being built after $1.8B design, build contract awarded
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
Severe winds wreak havoc on southern Manitoba
Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.
'Did I get a touchdown?': Girls lead the way with 'powerpuff play' during football game in Moncton, N.B.
Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.
Oh my gourd: B.C.'s giant pumpkin weigh-off declares winner
A gargantuan gourd – affectionately named ‘Orangina’ by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home – earned the massive honour of being named B.C.’s heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.
'Very special to be home': Chantal Kreviazuk to play anniversary concert in Winnipeg
Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.