Prime factor After nine years, is the Trudeau era nearing a conclusion?

After an electoral upset, the public is growing increasingly weary of the prime minister's tenure and his Liberal party

- Leyland Cecco TORONTO

A Canadian prime minister who has outstayed his welcome, persistent inflation, a government bumped and bruised by scandal and a firedup opposition leader itching for a showdown.

It was against this backdrop, four decades ago, that Pierre Trudeau took his apocryphal "walk in the snow" and decided not to contest the next federal election. After a shocking upset in a "safe" electoral district and with a looming possibility of a blowout in the next federal election, Justin Trudeau's predicament closely mirrors that of his father. But the incumbent prime minister says he has no intention of stepping down, despite evidence the public is growing increasingly weary of both his tenure- and of his Liberal party.

In late June, Trudeau's party lost a byelection for a Toronto seat the party had held for nearly three decades, foreshadowing what pundits say could portend the collapse of the party's stronghold in Canada's most populous city. The loss has prompted soul-searching within the Liberal party and renewed calls for a leadership change.

In an interview with CBC News last Monday, the first since his party's stinging loss, Trudeau addressed his political future, saying he had no interest in stepping down.