Canada's Bloc Quebecois joins opposition to topple Justin Trudeau's government

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's problems have aggravated as a Quebec nationalist party announced on Tuesday (Oct 29) that it would work with opposition parties to topple Trudeau's already struggling government in Canada. 

The Bloc Quebecois chief Yves-Francois Blanchet, while addressing a press conference, underlined the challenges facing Trudeau's minority Liberal government. He highlighted that Trudeau's government is suffering from voter fatigue after nine years and needs the support of other parliamentarians to stay in power.

In return for backing Trudeau, the Bloc wanted more money for seniors and promised to protect a system of tariffs and quotas that protect dairy farmers, many of whom live in Quebec. Blanchet said Trudeau had not acted in time.

"We are negotiating with opposition parties in order to have the government fall," he told reporters.

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To succeed, Blanchet must win over the smaller left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP), which has twice in the last five weeks backed Trudeau in confidence votes. The Bloc, which is the second largest of the four opposition parties, seeks independence for the province of Quebec.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is due to speak to reporters later on Tuesday.

Polls show both the NDP and Liberals would perform poorly in an election that must be held by the end of October 2025. Surveys of public opinion regularly show the official opposition Conservatives are on track for a big win.

Trudeau's pledge to lead the party 

The call to topple the government comes just a week after Trudeau said he would lead his Liberal Party into the next election, dismissing a request by some party members not to run for a fourth term.

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A report by the news agency Associated Press said that Trudeau met with his Liberal members of Parliament for three hours on October 23, where he learned that more than 20 lawmakers from his party signed a letter asking him to step down before the next election.

(With inputs from agencies)