August 13, 2026
#World

Canada PM Justin Trudeau under pressure as MP quits, budget criticized

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remained under pressure over a corruption scandal on Wednesday as a legislator quit his party’s caucus and a pre-election budget aimed at swaying key voters appeared to offer too little to stem the tide of negative news.

The budget the last before federal elections in October lavished new spending on middle-class voters but ignored corporations. It also provided a little for key groups such as millennial voters who backed Trudeau in droves in Canada’s 2015 election.

The decision by a legislator, who had defended a former minister at the center of a political scandal, to quit the ruling Liberal Party and sit as an independent dealt a fresh blow to Trudeau’s embattled government.

“It’s just too broad,” said Norman Levine, managing director at Portfolio Management Corporation. “They wanted to please lots of people and … when you try to please everybody you end up pleasing nobody, because you spread it too thin.”

Rob Edel, chief investment officer at Nicola Wealth Management, noted the government did not commit to reducing a budget deficit that is much larger than the Liberals promised. This was “a political rather than an economic decision,” he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denies allegations of “partisan” political meddling in the criminal prosecution of a corporate giant that have plunged his Liberal government into its worst crisis yet.

The political crisis threatens the government’s chances of re-election. Polls have shown that Trudeau’s Liberals could lose the vote as the damage from the scandal spreads.

The Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada as well as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce complained about the lack of tax reform. But the center-left Liberals may not care too much as their core supporters are progressive thinkers, women and younger voters.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau stressed budget measures to help first-time home buyers, including allowing people to withdraw up to C$35,000 from a retirement savings account.Conservative leader Andrew Scheer has continuously demanded Trudeau’s resignation, which some Conservatives privately worry is the wrong approach.

Canada PM Justin Trudeau under pressure as MP quits, budget criticized

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Canada PM Justin Trudeau under pressure as MP quits, budget criticized

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