The majority of Ontario’s Liberal MPs have come to the consensus that the prime minister needs to go.
Saturday morning, 51 of the province’s 75 Liberal MPs met virtually on a zoom call to discuss the past week’s developments — from Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell resignation as finance minister to the growing calls for Justin Trudeau to resign.
During the hour-long meeting, no member of Parliament — including cabinet ministers — pleaded the case on camera for the prime minister to fight the next election as Liberal leader, according to seven sources on the call, who spoke to the Star on condition of anonymity.
Beaches—East York MP, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith who was just sworn-in as housing minister on Friday, argued during the meeting that Trudeau should remain as prime minister right now — that he is best placed to deal with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump and address the 25 per cent tariff threat — but “that’s a different question as to whether he’s the right guy in the next election.”
Erskine-Smith told the Star on Saturday he believes the prime minister should be given the time and space to reflect, and that his immediate departure would lead to “chaos.”
Whether he thinks Trudeau should be the leader in the next election, Erskine-Smith suggested that depends on what the options are.
“If it’s Justin Trudeau versus (former B.C. premier) Christy Clark, I think Justin Trudeau every single time. Like every single time. I’ll organize for him however I can.
“If it’s Justin Trudeau versus (former Bank of Canada governor) Mark Carney, I would also vote for Justin Trudeau. So, I mean, it depends,” Erskine-Smith said.
Many of those in the meeting called for the prime minister to be given time to come to his own conclusion, and be given the dignity to leave, rather than appearing to be pushed out.
“It’s not a ‘Think about it and stay on.’ It’s like, ‘Think about it. But you need to go’,” said one MP.
Another MP described their takeaway from the call as: “The countdown has officially begun.”
International Trade Minister Mary Ng — a good friend of Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford — urged MPs not to speak publicly. Some agreed, believing it is damaging the party. But others felt that by speaking out they were “helping the party” move on from an untenable situation.
The call was tense at times, sources said. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu accused Freeland, who was on the call, of pulling a “Jody Wilson-Raybould,” a reference to the former justice minister who resigned in a spectacular fashion in 2019 after she was demoted from her cabinet portfolio, and accused Trudeau and his office of improperly attempting to influence her into intervening in an ongoing criminal case against the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. Wilson-Raybould’s public accusations were intended to harm Trudeau but many MPs felt also harmed the Liberal party.
While some were visibly unimpressed with Hajdu’s comments, nobody opposed what she said and some privately agree with her words.
Freeland, according to sources, said nothing.
The call ended with the Ontario caucus chair Michael Coteau being asked to deliver a summary of caucus discussion to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The morning meeting came on the heels of several Ontario MPs publicly calling for Trudeau to step aside.
In a public letter posted on social media Friday, Don Valley West MP Rob Oliphant called on the prime minister to relinquish the leadership of the Liberal party of Canada and for a new leader to be elected through a robust, open leadership contest.
Oliphant said he considers Trudeau a friend and is proud of the work the Liberal party had accomplished, such as $10-day-child care, dental care and the Canada child benefit, but he and his riding association executive believe that new leadership is required to protect their “hard-fought achievements” under Trudeau’s tenure.
In another letter, posted on social media that same day, Nepean MP Chandra Arya also called on Trudeau to resign saying that he is now “reasonably certain that a majority of the Liberal caucus no longer supports your leadership.”
Arya called on Trudeau to step aside “immediately” and for the caucus to rally around Freeland as leader.
There was zero consensus on the Ontario caucus zoom call about the preferred mechanics of a leadership race, whether the prime minister should step down immediately and a new leader appointed, or whether Trudeau should stay on in the interim to allow for a full but short leadership race.
Some fear that if Trudeau stays on as leader during a leadership contest, he might still find a way to contest the next election. Others believe he should remain to offer stability with Trump’s return.
Some MPs are already lining up behind preferred leadership candidates and how they feel, and what they are willing to say, depends on the outcome they seek.
What’s clear from Saturday’s call is that there is growing sentiment within the Liberal caucus that it is no longer a question of whether the prime minister should step aside but when he should.
