Trudeau says election could be coming soon, insists he does not want one

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that an election could be coming to Canada soon but insisted that he does not want one himself, Reuters reports.

"Obviously, we are in a minority government, and that could well happen," Trudeau told Montreal’s CHOU 1450 AM radio station after being asked if an election could be held in the coming months. "Our priority as a government is going to be helping people get through this pandemic... it’s not in our interests to have an election."

Canada last came close to an election in October when opposition MPs attempted to pass a resolution which would form an "anti-corruption committee." The committee would have been tasked with investigating the WE Charity scandal and other potential conflict of interest issues surrounding the Liberal government.

The Liberals said they would treat the Conservative motion as a vote of confidence, meaning its passage would signal non-confidence in the government and spark an election. As opposition parties trailed the Liberals in the polls, the House of Commons ultimately did not pass the resolution.

Since then, the Liberals have continued to outperform the Conservatives in the polls, but not by enough to secure a majority government.

Most observers are expecting a snap election sometime in 2021, suggesting that it is unlikely that the Liberal minority will survive in its current form until the next scheduled election in 2023.