Guilbeault Reacts to News Report Airing His Private Conversations on Byelection Upset

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault lresponds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa on June 14, 2023. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault reiterated his “full support” for the prime minister after a media outlet reported on the one-on-one conversations he had with Liberals across the country about the surprise Toronto byelection loss.

“One-sided conversations taken out of context do not reflect the open and honest exchanges that I routinely have with my caucus colleagues,” Mr. Guilbeault said in a statement on June 28.

A columnist writing in the Toronto Star said he was sitting next to the minister in a Via Rail business lounge on June 27 as he was working the phone.

“I’ve been asked by PMO (the Prime Minister’s Office) to make some calls and talk to people and report back,” he reportedly said in one of the calls.

During the calls, Mr. Guilbeault reportedly suggested that the departure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be unlikely and that he is the favourite to lead the party in the next election.

Speculation has been rife about the future of the prime minister after the Liberal stronghold of Toronto–St. Paul’s fell to the Conservatives in the June 24 byelection. Liberals had held the House of Commons seat since 1993.

So far, no Liberal minister or MP has publicly called for Mr. Trudeau to step down, but a few former ministers have. This includes one of Mr. Guilbeault’s predecessors on the environment file, Catherine McKenna.

Mr. Guilbeault has gone further than most in throwing his support behind the prime minister.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Prime Minister Trudeau,” he told reporters on June 26. “He has my eternal gratitude and certainly has my support.”

He repeated this sentiment in his June 28 statement, saying he entered politics in 2019 because he believes in the Liberal Party and the prime minister’s “tireless and progressive leadership.”

“I remain as convinced now, as I was then, that the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party of Canada are best positioned to deliver the change that Canadians elected us to deliver,” he said.

Other ministers reacting to the Toronto byelection loss have been more critical in public about the defeat.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who has longstanding ties to Mr. Trudeau, also said on June 26 that the prime minister should stay on. But he commented that “a lot of us need to take a step back, screw our heads on a little better, stop the navel-gazing, and get back on the horse to fight for Canadians.”

Mr. Trudeau himself has been quiet most of the week, save for a brief statement during a nature conservation announcement in B.C. on June 25. He has not taken questions from reporters.