Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a recent podcast that he considered stepping down as prime minister last year after his marriage began to crack.
Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, announced they had agreed to separate in August last year.
During the episode Rethink In a podcast released Tuesday, psychologist and host Adam Grant asked Trudeau how often he considers resigning.
“Not at all recently,” Trudeau said, though he acknowledged the thought had crossed his mind last year.
“When I was going through some challenges in my marriage last year, I really thought, ‘Okay, is there a way? [to step aside]?
“I realized that’s not me. I still have a lot of work to do.”
During an interview with Radio-Canada in March, Trudeau joked that he thinks about quitting his “crazy,” “super tough” and sometimes “rewarding” job every day.
Trudeau told Grant that he intended those comments to suggest the prime minister was “fully committed” to his job.
“If you want to honestly take on this kind of work with responsibility and impact, you have to make sure you’re up for it and that you’re putting your all into it, maybe not every day,” he said.
“Even if you’ve been in the job for a few years and it’s harder than it used to be, even if your opponents are gaining momentum… if you have to say ‘no,’ you shouldn’t be doing the job.”
The ruling Liberal Party is trailing the opposition Conservatives in opinion polls, and Trudeau’s personal approval rating is declining: An Angus Reid poll conducted in April found that only 28% of Canadians approve of him, while 66% disapprove of him as prime minister.
Trudeau acknowledged his current unpopularity when asked by Grant how he would deal with criticism from Canadians.
“I try to come to a place of empathy,” Trudeau said.
“No matter how much I am hated, I have to think about what I can do. [Canadians]or their children or their communities are doing better.”
Trudeau’s podcast appearance is part of a concerted Liberal effort to win over younger voters.
The chancellor has given interviews for popular podcasts and YouTube channels about topics such as healthcare, the economy, personal finance and even women’s basketball.
Grant said in his introduction that Trudeau’s team approached him “out of the blue” about the interview.
Voters head to the polls in Toronto-St. Paul on June 24 for the federal by-election. 338Canadian poll tabulator Philippe Fournier breaks down the numbers.
A surge in millennial votes was credited in large part to Trudeau’s Liberal Party’s victory in the 2015 federal election, but recent surveys suggest younger voters are leaning more toward the Conservatives.
The Liberal strategy to appeal to younger voters will be put to the test in a by-election in the Toronto-St. Paul constituency later this month.
The constituency has been elected by the Liberal Party since the 1990s. Former cabinet minister (and current ambassador to Denmark) Carolyn Bennett represented the constituency from 1997 to 2024.
“The 338Canada pollster Philippe Fournier told CBC News Power and politics He said last week that the Liberal Party was at risk of losing the constituency in a by-election, despite a strong showing in 2021 with Bennett winning more than half the vote.
“This should be considered a 50-50 race with a slight Liberal advantage,” he said. “Obviously there’s some uncertainty in the numbers, but I would expect the Liberals to win by between four and eight points.”