Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with local leaders as he visits the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Nation in 2021 (Dylana Kneeshaw/CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

NEXT STEPS

Federal Liberals face uphill battle to find an ‘independent identity’ after Trudeau’s resignation: TRU Professor

Jan 6, 2025 | 4:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — The words ‘reinvent’ and ‘reimagine’ will quickly become cliches in the political landscape of Canada, as the Liberal Party enters what will need to be a swift leadership race.

“It’s really going to be an uphill battle for them to find that independent identity apart from (Justin) Trudeau. Can they do it? That is yet to be seen. I think they are probably going to have to play a bit of a long game here. The polls are pretty clear,” said TRU Associate Professor Robert Hanlon.

Similarly to Trudeau, who came to power at a down moment for the Grits, his successor will face a tough opening act — staring down the barrel of an election nobody expects them to win.

“There is a lot of urgency in this. They are going to have to really think of how to balance that urgency with future objectives for the party. And also the right leader — a leader who is willing to take the hits and possibly stay through it into the next election cycle and beyond,” said Hanlon.

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Bill Sundhu has run for the NDP federally, and feels while Trudeau was elected in 2015, he was never the right man for Canada, handicapping 2025 as a two-horse race.

“Instead, they went for a celebrity. They went for the son of a legendary Canadian, and that saved them,” said Sundhu. “But we also know elections matter hugely. If we look at 2015, Tom Mulcair was leading for most of the campaign, and Mr. Trudeau was way behind, third and he came from behind. When we look at this next election, it is up for grabs, but I think it’s an orange and blue battle across Canada.”

With a general election now possible as soon as May, the Liberals have no time to waste.

“I think it is the right move. The Liberal Party has been around for 150 years and every once in a while you have to do a renewal and we are due for a renewal,” said Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Liberal Riding Association Chair Adrienne Murphy.

Trudeau will leave office as the seventh-longest-serving prime minister in Canadian history at just over nine years, but like Stephen Harper before him, he seemingly reached an expiration date with voters.

“Politicians are in the position, essentially, to eventually be fired,” said Hanlon. “And making certain decisions, especially for your party when you are representing your party, and your voter base is quite contentious at times… so the pendulum sways.”

Parliament returns following the prorogation on March 24.

CFJC News did reach out to Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Frank Caputo for an interview on Trudeau’s resignation but did not hear back ahead of our deadline.