What do Canadians think about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau?

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Justin Trudeau's approval rating is now around 50% (roughly half of Canadians approve of the job he is doing). It used to be over 60% last year, so his approval rating has dropped in recent months.

In terms of party support, it's still a close race between the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. Both parties have around 35% to 40% support (depending on the polls you look at). Some polls have the two parties statistically tied, others have the Conservative Party in the lead by a small margin.

The next most popular party is the New Democratic Party (NDP) which has around 15% support. The NDP is a left-leaning party that shares some similarities with the Liberal Party, but is often considered to be more liberal/progressive.

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Possible reasons why Trudeau's approval has dropped recently:

• Tax plan controversy — Some of the proposed changes to the taxation system may result in small business owners (and some other groups) paying more income tax, which many people are not pleased about.

• Budget deficit issues — The Liberal Party's budget deficit is now much higher than Trudeau claimed it would be during his election campaign. Some people are concerned the government is spending too much money and that the budget deficit is out of control.

• Criticism of his handling of the refugee crisis — Tons of refugees have been crossing the border illegally into Canada from the United States because they are afraid of being deported from the US. This is putting a large strain on the Canadian government and immigration system and it's costing a lot of money to deal with the issue (refugee claimants have to be housed/fed while they await a ruling on whether their refugee/asylum status is approved).

• Omar Khadr monetary settlement — Omar is a Canadian citizen who moved to Afghanistan and fought alongside terrorists as a young teenager. He reportedly ended up killing an American soldier with a grenade and the United States sent him to their infamous Guantanamo Bay prison camp for 10 years (starting at age 16) where he was allegedly tortured.

Omar essentially sued the Canadian government for acting illegally and not doing enough to protect his legal rights. The Trudeau government then negotiated a settlement deal with Omar's lawyers and Omar was paid $10.5 Million ($8.1 Million USD). This settlement payment was highly controversial because many people feel Omar should be treated like a terrorist, not a victim deserving a huge payout.