FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Canadians are due to go to the polls in October but Mr Trudeau is battling to maintain his popularity after becoming embroiled in claims his aides pressured former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to ensure construction firm SNC-Lavalin avoided a corruption investigation. The 47-year-old insists there was no wrongdoing but 41 percent of Canadians disagreed with Mr Trudeau in a Leger poll for news agency The Canadian Press. Just 12 percent believed he hadn’t done anything wrong following the allegations which has left his Liberal Party in turmoil. JUSTIN TRUDEAU ROCKED BY CRISIS: WHO IS JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD?

The poll read even worse for Mr Trudeau on a question regarding which party respondents would vote for in the autumn election. Leger found 36 percent of people said they would vote for the opposition Conservative party while 34 percent would support Mr Trudeau’s Liberals. It marks the first time since the 2015 general election the Conservatives have been ahead of the Liberals who were once way out in front in the polls. The results have left Mr Trudeau’s inner team fearing he could be ousted outright or forced into a coalition government in eight months time.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has seen his approval plummet in a new poll

Also worrying for Mr Trudeau was the response to a question on which party’s leader would make the best Prime Minister. Despite receiving the most support, just 26 percent of respondents answered for Mr Trudeau - a seven point nosedive from a similar Leger poll conducted in November last year. Opposition Conservative leader Andrew Scheer received 21 percent while Green leader Elizabeth May scored eight percent and the New Democratic Party’s Jagmeet Singh gained six percent. Leger’s executive vice president Christian Bourque said the results proved Canadians were increasingly suspicious of their prime minister. Mr Leger told Canadian media: “I think a lot of it leads back to how the prime minister himself has handled the crisis over the last week or so. “He’s not found a way to reassure Canadians or … been clear enough about his involvement, what he said or did not say, so that a lot of Canadians right now are holding it up against him because they don’t know all the ins and outs to make up their own mind.” However Mr Bourque added the polls do not necessarily mean Mr Scheer is destined for victory. He said: “There’s nobody right now that’s capturing the minds and hearts of Canadians and probably explains why voting intentions are so close while we see that the Prime Minister is actually showing signs of weakening in terms of support.”

Mr Trudeau is facing allegations members of his team pressured Jody Wilson-Raybould over corruption

The poll comes as a top Trudeau aide denied suggestions Ms Wilson-Raybould was pressured into using a deferred prosecution agreement to grant SNC-Lavalin a reprieve at an extraordinary Canadian House of Commons justice commitee session. Mr Wernick told lawmakers: “It is my conclusion and my assertion, based on all the information I have, that there was no inappropriate pressure on the minister of justice in this matter.” In yesterday’s committee appearance, Mr Wernick admitted Ms Wilson-Raybould may have felt pressure to “get it right” on SNC-Lavalin and would likely “express concern” about three meetings. The first would be a September 17 meeting she had with Mr Trudeau while the second “is a conversation between the PMO’s staff and her former chief of staff when she was minister of justice on December 18.” Mr Wernick added: “The third is a conversation I had with her in the afternoon of December 19.” The chief public servant said all three meetings were about SNC-Lavalin and in his discussion he explained the “context” and “consequences” a criminal prosecution would have on the Quebec company. He said: “How Ms Wilson-Raybould interprets and perceives those conversations she can tell you next week.”

Mr Werner added: “I can tell you my view very firmly is they were entirely appropriate, lawful, legal.” Mr Trudeau has been hit by a series of resignations from his administration and met with members of his Liberal Party to calm anger about how he is handling the SNC-Lavalin affair. He has dismissed calls for a full public inquiry into claims relating to the Montreal engineering firm’s government contracts in Libya, saying the ethic commissioner has launched a probe into suggestions staff in the Prime Minister’s Office pressured Ms Wilson Raybould when she was justice minister. Wilson-Raybould, who was demoted in a cabinet reshuffle last month, resigned as veterans affairs minister on February 12. She has been invited to speak to the Canadian House of Commons’s justice committee and is currently consulting lawyers as to how much she can reveal on SNC-Lavalin. She defiantly told reporters on Wednesday: “I hope to have the opportunity to speak my truth”. Meanwhile Mr Trudeau’s principal private secretary and close ally Gerald Butts quit on Monday insisting he had not pressured the former Attorney General. Mr Trudeau’s position is not in immediate danger after Wednesday’s three hour clear-the-air meeting with members of his party with one source saying no leadership challenges are being plotted. Mr Trudeau can not be replaced by parliamentary vote of no-confidence in the same way Theresa May fought off a Labour initiated challenge in January as Canadian party leaders are confirmed at formal conventions.

The SNC-Lavalin scandal is causing Mr Trudeau's approval ratings to plummet