Canada’s Trudeau has promised to lead the Liberal Party in the next elections

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on October 24. (AP)

TORONTO, Oct 26 (AP): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he will lead his Liberal Party in the next election, rejecting a request from some party members not to seek a fourth term. Trudeau met with his Liberal MPs on Wednesday and learned that more than 20 lawmakers from his party had signed a letter asking them to resign before the next election.

He said “serious conversations” were ongoing about how best to move forward, but “that will happen to me as leader before the next election.” No Canadian prime minister in more than a century has won four consecutive terms. Trudeau’s cabinet ministers said he has the support of the vast majority of the 153 Liberal Party members in the House of Commons.

Sean Casey, one of the Liberal lawmakers who signed the letter asking Trudeau to resign, said he was disappointed Trudeau didn’t take time to reflect, but said he now considers the matter settled and moving on. Casey said Trudeau listened but was not swayed. “It was a decision that he had every right to make, and he made it,” Casey told reporters.

“I’ve done my job by voicing what I’ve heard from constituents and now I need to focus my energy on winning my seat rather than internal party matters. As far as I understand, the issue is closed.” Casey said he wouldn’t call it bullshit, but noted that Trudeau “sees something that I don’t see, that my constituents don’t see.” The latest Nanos poll shows the Liberals trailing the Conservatives by 38% to 25%.

The poll of 1,037 respondents has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The Liberals recently failed in special elections for seats representing two constituencies in Toronto and Montreal that the party had held for years, raising doubts about Trudeau’s leadership. Federal elections could take place any time between this fall and October next year. Liberals must count on the support of at least one major party in parliament, since they themselves do not have an absolute majority.