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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to gather his cabinet next week to prepare for the upcoming House of Commons return and approaching U.S. presidential election.
The three-day retreat in Montreal will focus on “efforts to support the middle class and (to) build an economy that works for everyone,” including the cost-of-living crisis, and the housing shortage, according to a press release.
Those issues — affordability and housing — were top-of-mind for Canadians throughout most of last year, according to data from Nanos Research. Meanwhile, 37 per cent of survey respondents rated Trudeau’s team’s performance as “very poor” in a poll taken late last year.
Just five per cent thought the minority Liberals were doing a “very good” job.
“This team is squarely focused on advancing our work to build more homes, create good-paying jobs, bring down the cost of living, support the middle class, and make life better for Canadians,” Trudeau said in the release.
Canada’s relationship with the U.S. is also on the docket for the retreat, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
On Monday, former U.S. president Donald Trump won the Iowa Republican caucuses in a landslide victory, with 51 per cent of the votes.
Should Trump secure the Republican nomination, and later the White House, Canadians can expect “turbulence,” said Nanos Research founder Nik Nanos, in the latest episode of CTV News Trend Line.
That’s taking into account the “very difficult time” Canada and other allied countries had while he last held the job, he said.
“Who knows what will happen,” he added. “I would expect that Donald Trump, if he does win, will be much better prepared, at least from his perspective, to be president and try to institute change.”
“It’s something that everyone is going to have to manage,” Nanos said.
The Liberal caucus, as well as Conservative and NDP MPs, are also expected to hold back-to-Parliament meetings before the session resumes on Jan. 29.
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello