OTTAWA— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rebuffed a dramatic challenge by a group of 24 Liberal MPs who endorsed a call for him to step down by Monday and trigger a leadership race, sources say. And yet, his insistence to them he intends to stay on failed to dispel questions about whether he can remain as Liberal leader to fight the next election.
Trudeau faced his caucus critics behind closed doors Wednesday at a critical meeting where sources say B.C. MP Patrick Weiler went first to the microphone to relay contents of a letter from 24 “concerned MPs.”
None of the 24 rebels signed their names to a document, said a government source. And while about 20 MPs came forward during the meeting to urge Trudeau to leave, the number fell short of advance speculation the dissenters numbered up to 40 or more. That led the prime minister and his team to feel the internal revolt did not have a critical mass that would drive him out.
But a question mark still looms after several MPs emerged without a clear endorsement of his grip on the embattled Liberal party. All said the caucus was united in the desire to defeat the Pierre Poilievre-led Conservatives, but not all said that is possible under Trudeau. Some dodged questions about whether he should stay on, while his supporters called for an end to the damaging internal divisions.
Over the course of a nearly three-hour meeting described as “frank” and “very emotional,” MPs vented their concerns. Trudeau spoke more than once, and said clearly he intends to stay on as leader, said caucus sources who spoke on condition that they not be identified since caucus deliberations are intended to be private. Striding past a gaggle of reporters after the meeting, the prime minister would only say, “The Liberal party is strong and united.”
Weiler did not respond to the Star’s request for comment.
One of the backers of the letter, MP Wayne Long, said the prime minister “clearly” understood the message, and while he “likes” Trudeau personally, he feels no better about the party’s prospects under him.
“I think we’ve done good things together,” he said, adding that “I haven’t changed my mind … I think he needs to step down, but I think if anything today, there’ll be a reflection. And … it’s really his decision, right? I mean, there’s no real process to remove a leader.”
Long, who is not running again, said that if Trudeau’s critics are not satisfied by a response expected “soon” to their demands, they will have to make a choice. “This can’t go on forever. There’s got to be an end date here where people are going to either get on board the train to the next election, or get off.”
Even Trudeau’s supporters, like cabinet minister Marci Ien, conceded that the disagreements are not over. “I think it’s going to take some time. But what was good about today is that people actually had their say.”
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said there was no ultimatum to MPs and no instruction to dissenters not to talk, but there is an expectation, like in any family, that ”once everything is done and said, you move on. You unite.”
Toronto MP Nate Erskine-Smith told reporters he spoke in caucus and urged Trudeau to take the dissent seriously, and his colleagues to end “the palace intrigue.”
“The prime minister has to listen to the frustrations, and in some cases, really valid frustrations, of caucus colleagues, and incorporate that into changes moving forward, whether those are big changes or small changes or both,” he said.
“And the second thing is, my colleagues need to turn the knives outwards and not inwards, and we need to focus on the most important thing, which is getting things done here in Parliament and taking the fight to Pierre Poilievre, because he’s a disaster for this country.”
Erskine-Smith predicted the talks would go on for days to come, with the presentation of a five-point election plan that was supposed to have been delivered Wednesday sidelined because of the internal turmoil.
Many other MPs said only there was a “good discussion” behind closed doors, while others avoided answering direct questions about whether they feel their caucus stands united behind Trudeau’s leadership.
Afterwards, Trudeau was defiant and combative in question period, as the Conservatives mocked his internal troubles. Poilievre taunted the prime minister to call an election, saying the Liberal leader “cannot fix what he broke because his caucus is revolting.” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called Trudeau “distracted.”
Trudeau also came under fire from a group of self-described grassroots Liberals who are circulating a petition that describes an “existential crisis” inside the party. The petition demands an urgent secret ballot vote — both inside the caucus room and at the party’s national executive — on whether Trudeau really should stay on in the face of months of bad polls that place his party well behind Poilievre’s Conservatives.
The petition — titled Code Red Petition — was started by a group of mostly young Liberals, said Andrew Perez, a Liberal strategist and political consultant acting as a spokesperson for the petition organizers. The petition is accompanied by a memorandum that details how the modern Liberal party is struggling in many corners of the country, and names Poilievre as “our enemy” who has harnessed the power of the internet to win support and rake in more donations than the federal Liberals.
“We are hoping that this petition lights a fire for the party leadership,” said Perez, who added that “structural changes” are needed for the Liberals to improve fundraising and grassroots organizing.
While he declined to say how many people are behind the petition, he said it has been sent to “tens of thousands” of Liberals this week.
He also said the petition “is about much more than leadership,” arguing the party brass should be accountable given events of recent months — including two byelection losses in long-safe Liberal seats, the departure of campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst and a host of cabinet ministers, and the recent caucus dissent.
The document also criticizes the Trudeau government’s “policy problem,” saying gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is too low and demanding fresh ideas to focus on productivity and economic growth. It calls for the party to address “the leadership issue” through a secret ballot vote in caucus and at the party’s national executive, and that if Trudeau decides to resign he should announce his choice as quickly as possible.
Sean Casey, an MP from Prince Edward Island who is among the three MPs who have publicly called for Trudeau to go, told reporters on his way into the caucus meeting that he wished there was a formal mechanism to hold such a vote.
Unlike the Conservatives, who ousted Erin O’Toole as leader in a caucus vote, the Liberals decided not to adopt parliamentary rules that give their caucus that power.
Before the meeting, Erskine-Smith said he would like to see some sort of future vote, possibly in Trudeau’s caucus, to provide “finality” to the question of the prime minister’s leadership.
“I think a secret ballot vote in caucus, you know, at some time in the foreseeable future, makes a certain amount of sense,” said Erskine-Smith, who has also voiced support for a partywide vote on the leader’s status.
With Parliament Hill abuzz with speculation about Trudeau’s future, entrances to West Block were jammed with reporters and staffers keen to press MPs on what will happen inside the morning’s high stakes Liberal caucus meeting.
Francis Drouin, a Liberal MP from eastern Ontario, was among those to denounce the MPs involved in the push against Trudeau.
“At some point, to keep knifing like this? Like, put up or shut up,” Drouin said.
Judy Sgro said the dissenters have damaged the Liberal party and should have privately raised their concerns with the prime minister.
“When you look divided, you look weak,” she said. “It’s not necessary to do what is going on today.”
