Liberal MPs who had publicly voiced their preference for a leadership change in their party said they are disappointed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not reflect longer on his future after a tense caucus meeting this week.
Some MPs made the case at the Oct. 23 meeting that Trudeau should move aside to improve the party’s fortunes at the next election. He was given until Oct. 28 to reflect on what he heard at the caucus meeting and come back with an answer.
“As a party, we’ve always had robust discussions about the best way forward. We'll continue to have them with me as leader,” said Trudeau.
Liberal MPs Sean Casey and Wayne Long, among the very few to speak out publicly against Trudeau, said that they would have liked to see him take more time to reflect.
“I don’t think that he felt that he needed to reflect at all. I think his mind was made up,” Casey told reporters in Ottawa on Oct. 24, adding the quick turnaround time was “disappointing.”
Casey said the prime minister listened to concerns raised by caucus members at the meeting but he “wasn’t swayed,” noting there were other views shared.
Casey, an MP from P.E.I., said Trudeau is seeing something about his potential that “I don’t see, that my constituents don’t see.” He said there’s no avenue for Trudeau to rehabilitate his brand among the people he’s talking to.
“They don’t think so, that’s what I’m getting. Maybe they’re wrong; maybe he’s wrong,” he said.
‘New Vision’
There could be few safe Liberal seats in the next election scheduled for October 2025 as Liberals are trailing the Tories in voters’ intentions by a large margin and have lost two strongholds in the June and September byelections.Liberal MP Wayne Long, who unlike Casey will not seek re-election, said he is also “disappointed” Trudeau did not take more time to reflect about his future.
Long was the first Liberal dissenter to speak out publicly against Trudeau. He had sent an email to his caucus colleagues calling him to resign shortly after the loss to the Tories of the Toronto-St. Paul’s riding on June 24.
“I expected him to reflect, or we expected him to reflect for the weekend,” Long told reporters on Parliament Hill on Oct. 24. Long said Trudeau had been given the date of Oct. 28 to come back with an answer. “That’s a pretty quick response. I think he needs more reflection,” he said.
The New Brunswick MP remarked his party doesn’t have a mechanism for caucus to remove a leader, so “ultimately, it’s his [Trudeau’s] choice.”
Long said he loves his party and that he’s been advocating to change its leadership to avoid a similar fate as the Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals in Ontario in 2018. The party went from forming government to winning seven seats and being relegated to third-party status. “They haven’t recovered yet,” said Long.
‘Not Surprised’
Other Liberal MPs who have not been publicly vocal for, or against, the current party leadership said Trudeau had no choice but to provide the answer he did when put on the spot.“I’m not surprised that the prime minister said that,” B.C. MP Patrick Weiler told reporters in Ottawa on Oct. 24. “If he would have said anything else, he probably would be a lame duck prime minister.”
Weiler said Trudeau is “thoughtful” and that he will take the time to properly reflect on what he heard in the Oct. 23 meeting and come back to caucus with his decision.
Weiler did not say whether he believes the party can still win with Trudeau in charge. “It’s up to the prime minister to be able to show that he is and I’m not going to make that case for him,” he said.
Toronto MP Yvan Baker shared similar views. “It’s understandable that he would say that in the context of an unrelated press conference,” Baker told reporters in Ottawa on Oct. 24, adding he believes Trudeau will take more time to reflect.
“I'll be frank, I’m still reflecting on all the things that I heard from my caucus colleagues, and I’m sure the prime minister will take the appropriate time to do that as well.”
Baker would not say whether he wants Trudeau to step down. “I think ultimately it’s the prime minister’s decision,” he said.
The Tories have previously tabled non-confidence motions including on the carbon tax issue.
Long said he wouldn’t vote non-confidence to cause an election but he mentioned the idea is being discussed. “One of my colleagues said that a non-confidence vote was a possibility. That’s not for me,” he said.
Casey shared a similar view. “I would hope that my colleagues have better judgment than that,” he said when asked by reporters about the matter, noting the Liberals need to avoid a Poilievre win.
The Liberals, who hold 153 seats, currently need the support of the NDP or the Bloc Québécois during confidence votes to remain in power. The Bloc has given an Oct. 29 deadline to the government to pass two of its private member’s bills. Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has said he would begin talks with other opposition parties to topple the government if the bills are not passed in time.
The two bills are in various stages of parliamentary review and are unlikely to be adopted by the deadline.
The Bloc and Tories together hold 152 seats and would require a significant number of Liberal MPs to break ranks if the NDP, which holds 25 seats, continues to back the minority government.
