OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is taking some time to reflect after Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell resignation as finance minister, Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Tuesday.
That comes as the number of Liberals who are calling for Trudeau to step aside appears to have grown.
“The prime minister, as I understand it, a number of caucus colleagues have said that the prime minister has said that he will reflect on both the decision that minister Freeland made, but also what he’s heard from members of his own caucus,” Jonathan Wilkinson said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“I think we all need to give him a little time to reflect, and I respect that fact that he’s going to take some time to reflect.”
The House of Commons is now on its holiday break, giving Trudeau a few weeks to decide on his next move before MPs return to Ottawa on Jan. 27.
On Tuesday evening, Trudeau spoke at the national caucus holiday party in Ottawa, where Freeland was among those in attendance.
He indirectly referenced Monday’s events, saying the previous few days had been eventful.
“It hasn’t been easy, and that’s why I’m so happy to see you guys,” he said, comparing the Liberals to a “big family.”
“Like most families, sometimes we have fights around the holidays. But of course, like most families, we find our way through it.”
Freeland’s decision to walk away from the top cabinet job came three days after Trudeau had informed her she would be moved out of the finance portfolio in the next cabinet shuffle. The news came out just hours before she was set to present the government’s fall economic statement in the House of Commons.
That kicked off a day of turmoil on Parliament Hill that began with an unexpected cabinet meeting, followed by hours of confusion about which minister might table the important financial update, or if it would be introduced at all.
Several Liberal MPs demanded an emergency caucus meeting, and during that evening gathering, some of them called for Trudeau to step aside as party leader.
New Brunswick MP Wayne Long, one of 23 caucus members who signed a letter back in October calling for Trudeau to quit, remains adamant that it’s time for Trudeau to go. He said this time “is so different than times before.”
“We certainly have more MPs than last time. So, if I had to guess how many more right now, I’d say we’re probably at 40 to 50 right now,” Long said.
The attempt to oust Trudeau earlier in the fall ultimately failed to garner support from anyone in cabinet. This time, Long said, at least five cabinet ministers believe it’s time for a change at the top — though he did not identify them.
“I certainly am one to say to my colleagues, to ministers in particular: ‘Let’s come out of the shadows,’” Long said. “Let’s openly, once and for all, state how we feel and let’s move forward with what we know has to happen.”
Several former cabinet ministers have called for Trudeau to go, including former environment minister Catherine McKenna on Tuesday.
“Every Liberal MP should be calling on the prime minister to resign,” she said in a post on social media. “The surest way to elect a Conservative majority and lose all the progress we’ve made is for him to stay. And we need to focus on tariff threat from the U.S. It’s over.”
But most current cabinet ministers, when asked, have backed the prime minister publicly.
Before question period on Tuesday Treasury Board President Anita Anand and Diversity Minister Kamal Khera, replied “yes” when asked if they support the prime minister. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the same.
Prince Edward Island MP Sean Casey isn’t convinced this attempt to push Trudeau out will work any differently than when he and 22 colleagues asked the prime minister to resign in October.
At the time, Liberal MPs told reporters that Trudeau pledged to reflect on what was said. The very next day, he publicly stated his intention to stay on as leader.
Casey does not think the prime minister will take a walk in the snow now, either.
“There’s not a single indicator in anything that he says or does that would tell me otherwise. He seems to be absolutely committed and he has throughout the piece, he’s been remarkably consistent,” Casey said.
Whenever Trudeau has been asked if he intends to lead the Liberals in the next election the response has been an unambiguous “yes.”
Trudeau typically holds a cabinet retreat before the return of Parliament and a long-anticipated cabinet shuffle is likely to come soon.
He replaced Freeland immediately with longtime friend and ally Dominic LeBlanc, who officially is now the minister of public safety, finance and intergovernmental affairs. Anand also holds two portfolios, juggling Treasury Board with transport, which she took on after Pablo Rodriguez stepped aside to prepare a run for the Liberal leadership in Quebec.
There are also at least five sitting ministers who do not plan to run in the next election, including Housing Minister Sean Fraser, whose announcement on Monday about his future was completely overshadowed by Freeland’s bombshell.
It has been a tumultuous fall for the government. The Liberals survived three non-confidence votes in the House of Commons and have struggled to advance legislation because of a filibuster on a Conservative privilege motion related to misspending at a now-defunct green technology fund.
On Tuesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre once again called on NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to topple the government.
Poilievre said Canada needs an election because U.S. president-elect Donald Trump “can spot weakness from a mile away” and the Trudeau government is weak.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet also said a new Parliament is needed “as soon as possible,” and he wants to see an election called in January.
Blanchet said Trudeau has lost the political, moral and ethical authority to govern.
On Monday, Singh called for Trudeau to step down but did not make a firm comment on whether the NDP would vote non-confidence in the Liberal government, saying only that “all options are on the table.”
The NDP, which ended a formal supply-and-confidence agreement to support the Liberals in September, has since voted with the government on all three non-confidence motions, trying to spin it as voting against the Conservatives rather than with the Liberals.
Singh has repeatedly said a Poilievre-led Conservative government would cut things New Democrats have fought for like dental care, pharmacare and other social programs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2024.
— With files from Nick Murray, Michel Saba and Anja Karadeglija
