A day after calling for a leadership review of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Liberal MP Ken McDonald has walked back his comments, saying it wasn’t his intention to suggest a formal review.
“The intent of my recent public comments was not to personally call for a leadership review, and I am not calling for one now,” McDonald said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times on Jan. 25.
“As I said, I believe that the prime minister is a smart politician, a great campaigner, and I know he still has the best interests of Canadians at heart. I will continue to support my caucus colleagues and the prime minister as I’ve done since 2015.”
The Newfoundland MP said in the interview that while he largely attributed his 2015 electoral victory to Mr. Trudeau becoming prime minister, he questioned if his leader was now causing harm to the party.
“I think Atlantic Canada is much the same as the rest of the country. There’s almost a hatred out there right now for Prime Minister Trudeau,” he said. ”People are thinking maybe it’s time for a change. I tell everybody: every leader, every party has a best-before date. Our best-before date is here.”
Despite his dwindling support, Mr. Trudeau said in a year-end interview with CBC News that he has no plans to resign.
“I am not giving up on the progressive vision of progress that we have been fighting for every single day over the past years,” he said.
