Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still riding the wave of “sunny ways,” according to recent poll numbers. But what could eventually cloud the public’s view of the charismatic leader?

Appearing on CTV’s Question Period, party strategists agreed that Trudeau is still enjoying his honeymoon period as the new prime minister. And according to pollster Nik Nanos, the numbers reflect that reality as well.

Federal government’s performance rating highest in nine years

A Nanos poll conducted for the Institute for Research on Public Policy shows 60.2 per cent of Canadians rated the federal government’s performance as “very good” (36.9 per cent) or “good” (23.3 per cent), representing a nine-year high on this measure. The previous nine-year high was 40.2 per cent after former prime minister Stephen Harper won a majority government in 2011, according to the study.

The poll is based on the complied views of 1,000 Canadians between Dec. 18 and 21, 2015. The sample included both landline and cellphones across Canada. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

“The honeymoon, mathematically, is still on for Justin Trudeau. We’ll have to wait and see until the House convenes and the spring budget rolls out,” said Nanos. 

But for CTV political analyst and Liberal Scott Reid, it isn’t just a honeymoon period. 

“People seem to want him (Trudeau) to succeed,” said Reid. “They’re trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I presume over time that will balance out. But right now, when rain falls into his garden, it just means plants are going to grow.”

Summa Strategies’ Michele Austin, a Conservative strategist, says Reid is “living in The Lego Movie” where “everything is awesome all the time.” She says it’s only a matter of time until the Liberals have a “full court pressed against them.”

“Of course the Liberals should enjoy it. What’s going right for them? The House of Commons sat for a week (last year). The other two parties are going through leadership issues,” said Austin. “Let’s wait until the big issues come to the table, and they’re coming.”

As Trudeau rides high, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is low in the polls, according to Nanos’ numbers. Only about one in every ten Canadians prefer him as prime minister, said Nanos, compared to 30 per cent on this front during the election. 

“He hasn’t really recovered from the election where Canadians had very high expectations,” said Nanos. “The reality is when Canadians look at Tom Mulcair, they’re going to be wondering what his future is.”

In April, Mulcair will undergo a leadership review at his party’s convention in Edmonton. But he’s facing pressure to step aside. Last week, Ontario NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo told the Toronto Star that Mulcair has to go because “he’s tainted.”

NDP pundit Alex Bushell says he thinks Mulcair can survive the leadership review, especially if he continues to perform well in the House of Commons. 

“I think what Tom needs to do when the House comes back is show that he can mount serious trouble to the Liberals, show their shortcomings, and I think that people will come around,” said Bushell.