Justin Trudeau is reportedly planning to call a snap federal election in Canada next month.

Trudeau is bumping the schedule forward for the 44th Canadian federal election which is now expected to happen on September 20.

While the election must take place on or before October 16th, 2023, rumours of an early election have been swirling since last year.

Reuters reports that Trudeau will announce the election this Sunday, aiming to secure voters' approval on further costly pandemic recovery plans in the face of record debt levels incurred fighting the economic gut punch.

The plans would reportedly put $100 billion back into the economy over the next three years, a cost that will be harder for voters to swallow when COVID-19 makes the transition from pandemic to endemic.

"Circumstances have changed massively since 2019. We need to know whether Canadians support our plans for economic recovery," stated one of Reuters' sources familiar with the matter.

The strategy here is to strike while the iron is hot. According to Abacus, Trudeau has seen positive poll numbers in the first half of 2021, his Liberal Party holding a six-point lead over Leader of the Opposition Erin O'Toole’s Conservative Party.

Federal Polling:

LPC: 35% (+2)
CPC: 29% (-5)
NDP: 18% (+2)
BQ: 6% (-2)
GPC: 5% (-2)

Mainstreet Research / August 11, 2021 / n=909 / MOE 3.3% / IVR

(% Change With 2019 Election)

Check out all federal polling on @338Canada at: https://t.co/7yXX9RtvEx pic.twitter.com/8C0qZ7fNCL

— Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) August 12, 2021

With the chance to possibly regain a majority in the House of Commons, Trudeau is hoping to get approval to fund the recovery from COVID-19 while people still fear the virus, rather than wait things out and risk losing steam to O'Toole's platform of "fiscal prudence."

O'Toole has been vocal in his opposition to a snap election in the days leading up to today's news, citing the fourth wave of the very pandemic that a contingent of his supporters believes is a hoax.

Both Trudeau and O'Toole have kept quiet on this issue since news broke, though NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh released a statement on Twitter on Wednesday morning.

The pandemic isn't over

Calling an election is selfish

PM Trudeau can bring his Ministers back from the pre-campaign trail, recall the House and get to work

I've written him reminding him that New Democrats are ready to return to Parliament and keep fighting for Canadians pic.twitter.com/ruDCXm62eU

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) August 10, 2021

Trudeau would next move to make things official with a request to Governor-General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament.

Once this happens, expect things to get very wild very fast. Attack ads could get particularly nasty this year as the divide between left and right widens, the pandemic exposing these dangerous fault lines in society.