Trudeau’s political future is uncertain. Here are 5 ways it could go.

OTTAWA — When Justin Trudeau squares off against his Liberal Party caucus on Wednesday, he’s certain to be told that it’s time to go.

“I’m going to buy a big bag of popcorn and watch the show,” backbencher Marcus Powlowski said ahead of Trudeau’s high-stakes gathering on Parliament Hill.

Canada’s three-term prime minister is down in the polls and on the outs with restive lawmakers in his party, an undetermined number of whom have been plotting his ouster and collecting signatures on a letter that calls on him to resign.

The regularly scheduled caucus meeting is the first since news of the letter began to circulate and could mark the beginning of the end for the prime minister.

Trudeau, who has led the party since 2013, continues to insist he’s not going anywhere.

“I’ve got a fight to lead against people who want to hurt this country,” he said just before Parliament’s return.

Since winning office in 2015, the Liberal government has legalized marijuana, expanded child benefits and child care, and pursued an ambitious climate agenda while running large budget deficits.

Sliding polls highlight his popularity problem after years of high inflation, a national housing shortage, runaway food prices and rent demands. Canadians want change — and so do many of Trudeau’s members of Parliament, who are worried he will bring the party down with him.

“Voting is an emotional exercise. It’s not based on logic or reason,” said Sean Casey, a politician from Prince Edward Island who has publicly called on his boss to resign.

“If it was based on logic and rational thinking, we’d be 20 points up, not down. But there’s been baggage accumulated, and people have tuned him out.”

During every caucus meeting, an hour is typically set aside for an open mic, a prime time for disgruntled MPs to air their grievances.

Here are five ways it could go for the prime minister:

1. Trudeau plays for time.

A federal election is expected at some point in the next year, with high stakes for Trudeau. No prime minister in the past 100 years has won four consecutive elections, so what Trudeau is attempting is deemed a longshot by history books.

In a recent interview, he said he hoped to close out his career by earning a vote from his son, who turns 18 next year.

“Hopefully we get to October of next year because my son, my eldest who was in utero while I was running for the nomination, will be old enough to vote for the very first time in the next election, so that for me is a beautiful bookend,” Trudeau said.

It’ll be a hard dream to pull off. Voters in Canada typically tire of their prime minister around the nine- to 10-year mark, as seen with Conservative Prime Ministers Stephen Harper, Brian Mulroney and Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

Trudeau may have moves to play, but he’s out of runway.

Four members of his Cabinet have announced they do not plan to seek reelection . Their exit from Trudeau’s front bench creates coveted openings he can dangle over caucus, keeping dissenters quiet as he scrambles to revamp his party and government messaging.

A potential shuffle has “caused all sorts of Liberal backbenchers who might be on the fence (about his leadership) to say, ‘Wait a second. I don’t want to do anything now because I don’t want to jeopardize my chances of getting into Cabinet,’” said Alex Marland, a political science professor at Acadia University.

This option would buy the prime minister only so much time. And Marland warns that those left out would have even fewer reasons to support Trudeau.

2. Trudeau hits pause.

Canada’s next election will be all about change. Liberal lawmakers know they will need to convince voters their government deserves a fourth term.

Trudeau has the option to prorogue Parliament — to pull the plug on the current session. This play would pause government work, kill work on legislation not yet passed and wipe the slate clean at committees.

It’s a move that would put caucus meetings on ice and “make it more difficult for Liberal MPs to mobilize,” Marland said.

If the House is not sitting, MPs can’t vote — thus delaying any “no confidence” measures that could defeat the PM and his Cabinet and trigger a federal election.

Parliament would return with a speech from the throne — something like the State of the Union address — that offers Trudeau another chance to sell Canadians on his government’s vision and priorities.

3. Trudeau resigns.

Trudeau could step down at any moment of his choosing.

Eddie Goldenberg, who served as chief of staff to Chrétien, recently mapped out one way it could go down .

If Trudeau were to resign, the Liberal caucus could hold an internal contest to choose an interim leader, Goldenberg said. In this way, the party’s executive could hold off on a leadership race until after the next election.

“If the new prime minister wins the election, the convention would be a formality,” Goldenberg proposed . “If he or she loses, there could be a real contest.”

He declined to elaborate for POLITICO, saying his opinion piece was “crystal clear.”

4. Trudeau hits pause, then resigns.

Trudeau could prorogue — pull the plug temporarily on Parliament — and then resign.

It’s not uncommon for a Canadian prime minister to resign. Chrétien announced in 2002 he wasn’t going to lead the Liberals into the next election after an internal struggle with his former finance minister and longtime rival Paul Martin.

And in 1993, Mulroney resigned amid a woeful economy and years of political baggage .

In this scenario, the Liberals would choose an interim leader and quickly organize a leadership race. They’d select a new prime minister without the imminent threat of an unplanned election.

5. Trudeau stays put.

There is no mechanism within the Liberal Party to oust a leader — except in the case of electoral loss, incapacitation or death.

Even if caucus backstabbing persists, Trudeau could decide he’s going to lead his party into the next general election.