Doubts about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership grew this week after his Liberal Party suffered a second humiliating loss in a by-election. Sadly the highly unpopular leader is determined to stay in office despite 78% of Canadians wanting him to step down.

According to the Economic Times, the Liberals, who have been in power for nearly nine years, lost a close election on Monday in a Montreal constituency that had previously been one of the party’s safest seats.

The result, which followed a defeat in Toronto in late June, reinforced the view that the Liberals’ chances in the next national election are bleak. The mandate for Trudeau’s minority administration expires at the end of October 2025, but an early election has become more plausible as the tiny New Democratic Party withdraws its support.

Even still, Trudeau gave no indication on Tuesday that he might step away before the next election campaign. And the party’s ability to force him out is restricted.

Trudeau Tanking in the Polls

Although polls show the Liberals will lose heavily to the official opposition right-of-center Conservatives in the next election due to dissatisfaction with inflation and the housing crisis, Trudeau and his closest aides insist he is not going anywhere and has time to help the party recover.

His major immediate difficulty is that he has lost control of the House of Commons, where the Liberals command only a small number of seats. The left-leaning NDP inked a contract in 2022 to maintain the Liberals in power, but they reneged on it this month.

The NDP boosted its vote share in Montreal while keeping a seat in Manitoba, despite a stiff Conservative assault. The Liberals face several confidence votes from legislators in the coming months, and a failure would result in an election, though the NDP may choose to keep the government afloat until it can boost its own popularity.

Maintaining a minority government is challenging, and it is unknown how far Trudeau can push his legislative program. On Monday, the Liberals announced that they will prioritise defence and citizenship issues.

Trudeau Facing Pressure to Resign

Unlike in the United States, where President Joe Biden resigned as Democratic presidential candidate in favour of Vice President Kamala Harris, Trudeau has no easy path to pass over authority.

According to one top Liberal, if polls continue to show Trudeau’s unpopularity, key ministers may pressure him to resign. However, the Liberal, who sought anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, stated that there was no assurance Trudeau, who sources describe as stubborn, would listen.

Tradition demands that a stand-in must be chosen from among parliamentarians, ruling out former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who has been considered as a prospective Trudeau replacement.

According to party custom, the interim leader does not run for permanent replacement. That might prevent cabinet heavyweights like Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne from aspiring to succeed Trudeau in the near future.

Regardless, Frank Graves, president of the Ekos polling agency, believes that changing leaders may not improve Liberal prospects.

Trudeau Grapples With a Mass Exodus of Senior Staff

Trudeau’s Grapples With a Mass Exodus of Senior Staff

NEW YORK — Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. shares rose on Friday after former President Donald Trump said he would not sell his ownership in the social media company.

“I don’t want to sell my stock. “I don’t need money,” Donald told reporters at his golf club in Los Angeles.

Donald owns over 115 million shares in the corporation, according to a recent SEC filing. According to Thursday’s closing price of $16.08, Donald’s stock is worth nearly $1.85 billion.

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

If the former president desires, he can begin selling shares of Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, on September 19, when a lockup provision expires. The lockup agreement banned corporate insiders from selling newly issued shares for six months after the company went public in March.

Even though Donald would earn a sizable payoff if he sold, Trump Media’s stock is now significantly less valuable than it was six months ago. When the company debuted on the Nasdaq in March, it reached a high of $79.38.

Donald founded Truth Social after being barred from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol brawl. Trump Media, headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, has been losing money and failing to generate revenue. According to regulatory documents, it lost approximately $58.2 million last year and generated only $4.1 million in revenue.

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

“I use it as a method of getting out my word,” Donald remarked on Friday about Truth Social. “For me, it is a great voice.”

Following Donald’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the stock fell by more than 10% on Wednesday. On Friday, shares rose as much as 29% and closed up 11.8%.

SOURCE | AP

Canadian soldiers travelling to an Alaskan military drill were given 1960s military sleeping bags after complaining that the new ones were poor quality and unsuitable for sub-zero weather.

Despite the Liberal government spending more than $34.8 million on new sleeping bags, the Canadian Army requested late last year that hundreds of soldiers attending a joint northern exercise in Alaska with the Americans be provided antiquated, 1960s-vintage sleeping bags.

In late November last year, about 350 men from the 3rd battalion of the Canadian Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry went to Ram Falls Provincial Park, west of Red Deer, Alta., to train for northern operations.

During the training exercise last autumn, soldiers stated that despite using both the inner and outer shells and sleeping in stove-heated tents, they remained cold.

The temperatures during the exercise ranged from -5°C during the day to -20°C at night. According to an internal DND report dated December 5, 2023, the soldiers noticed “critical issues” with the new GPSBS sleeping bags, including a lack of warmth.

GPSB sleeping bags cost taxpayers $34.8 million, were not suitable for for typical Canadian winter conditions – CBC Image

The inadequacy of the new GPSB sleeping bags caused the Department of National Defence (DND) to begin seeking for extra sleeping bags to keep soldiers warm and usable in the Far North.

The briefing memo proposed that soldiers participating in the drill with the US be “loaned” 500 of the army’s old Arctic sleeping bags, which the new system was intended to replace.

The Trudeau administration has emphasised the importance of protecting Canada’s Arctic in recent defence policy updates, and has committed a series of new equipment acquisitions for cold weather operations.

Specifically, the policy promised to purchase “new vehicles adapted to ice, snow, and tundra.”

However, some soldiers who contacted CBC News with complaints about the sleeping bags expressed scepticism about such claims, citing DND’s failure to deliver on something as fundamental as a sleeping bag fit for the Canadian winter.

The DND stated that the 3rd battalion was the second unit to complain about the new sleeping bags. During a separate drill, troops from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, discovered flaws in the new sleeping bags.

Nonetheless, the government stated that it will not abandon the new sleeping bags and has begun a separate procurement of sleeping bags fit for a Canadian winter at an undisclosed cost to taxpayers.

In its statement to the CBC, the DND stated that it solicited comments from soldiers, but they did not respond immediately when asked what type of cold weather testing was conducted before purchasing the sleeping bags.

The GPSBS sleeping bags were chosen through a rigorous competition process, with technical requirements such as insulation value, bag weight, and packing volume, according to the DND.

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