OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was pushed to make serious changes to rescue the Liberals’ political prospects during a call with regional chairs from the party’s parliamentary caucus on Tuesday, according to two sources with knowledge of the conversation.
According to one, Trudeau was pressed on whether he should resign the Liberal leadership during the call, but the main message was the need for a significant overhaul after the governing party’s stunning byelection defeat last month to the Conservatives in the longtime Liberal stronghold of Toronto—St. Paul’s.
The politicians addressed the desire for a cabinet shuffle as one of the changes Trudeau could make, the source said, describing how the prime minister was told, “You need to make change and some of your key players need to go.”
A second source did not provide specific examples of what was discussed, saying there wasn’t a completely unanimous message. However, that individual agreed the overall thrust of the conversation was there is a “desire from this caucus to see change in some form” after the byelection loss.
“Ultimately, that change is either going to come in leadership change or it has to come in some other form — and the question that remains open is, what form is that?” said the second source.
“The ball is in the prime minister’s court to figure out what the next move is. If this is a chess game, it’s over to the prime minister, and what he chooses or chooses not to do in the days ahead will dictate the response of caucus.”
The sources agreed to speak on condition they aren’t identified.
A Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson declined to address questions from the Star on Wednesday about the call, referring to Trudeau’s comments earlier in the day, and his past comments about staying on as leader.
In Montreal, where the prime minister fielded his first questions from reporters in nine days since the byelection defeat, Trudeau acknowledged that it stung, and confirmed he is having “direct and frank” conversations with Liberals about how to best move forward.
Trudeau did not explicitly state he intends to stay on as his party’s leader, or that he has drawn any final conclusion from his discussions with worried Liberals.
He has previously said several times that he plans to lead the Liberals against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the next federal election, which is currently scheduled for October 2025.
On Wednesday, when grilled to explain why he shouldn’t step down after nine years, Trudeau referred to challenges facing democracies around the world, and the decline in public trust in democratic and government institutions. Part of the way to counter that is for governments like his to deliver concrete improvements in the lives of their citizens, he said.
“I will continue to be committed with my MPs throughout the country” to focus on the needs of Canadians, Trudeau said.
“I can tell you that, in my conversations with MPs from one end of the country to the other, the emphasis is on how we’re going to continue to be there for Canadians, how we’re going to present a positive vision to counter this mounting right-wing populism that we see throughout the world, including in Pierre Poilievre.”
Asked whether he needs to make changes to his cabinet, Trudeau did not offer a direct answer, but said he’s listening to “all my MPs” have to say about what the party should do.
“Last week’s byelection loss, not to sugar-coat it, was challenging, was something we need to take seriously,” Trudeau said.
In French, Trudeau said the loss was “a difficult moment that is inciting me to work even harder” on dental care, a national school food program, new housing, child care and the “green” economy.
He said he will continue engaging with Liberal MPs across the country, not just in the GTA, “to talk about how we can both understand what we need to improve on given last week’s byelection defeat, but also how we continue to be there for Canadians in a really important moment.”
The byelection defeat sparked the most intense period of speculation about Trudeau’s grip on power since he became Liberal leader in 2013 and swept into the prime minister’s office in 2015.
For months, his governing Liberals have trailed far behind Poilievre’s Conservatives in national polls. But the upset in Toronto—St. Paul’s unleashed a wave of calls for Trudeau to resign, including from his former environment minister Catherine McKenna, and Jean Chrétien-era cabinet members like former Liberal MPs Wayne Easter and John Manley.
Trudeau has been silent on those calls.
While some Liberal MPs have privately told the Star they think Trudeau needs to go, only New Brunswick’s Wayne Long has openly called for his resignation. Long got little public support from his caucus colleagues.
Still, one of the sources Wednesday said people would be mistaken to believe Long is alone in that sentiment.
A third source agreed that a significant number of caucus members privately believe Trudeau should go, but suggested it is not a majority of caucus.
The prime minister skirted questions about a demand for him to hold a meeting with all of his MPs . Last week, Liberal MP George Chahal called for a national caucus meeting to give “immediate attention” to the byelection loss.
Sources have told the Star that does not appear to be the wish of a majority of Liberal MPs, with some on vacation and others fearing a media circus would ensue. But on Wednesday, one of the people who spoke to the Star said it is not yet clear that’s the case.
What is clear is “there’s a desire to create a forum and a mechanism for caucus to express itself, whatever that looks like,” the insider said.
Beyond demands for changes in leadership, the cabinet or the Prime Minister’s Office, there could be policy shifts undertaken to address concerns the government has shifted too far left.
A senior government source, speaking on background, said there is a reckoning going on inside the Trudeau government that is far from over, but declined to speculate on what might happen next.
