Liberals’ National Campaign Director Stepping Down

Liberal Party National Director Jeremy Broadhurst poses for a photo at Liberal headquarters in Ottawa, on May 29, 2015. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

The Liberal Party’s national campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst has confirmed he is stepping down from the role.

“After much consideration and discussion with my family, I have decided to step away from my role as National Campaign Director for the Liberal Party of Canada effective September 30, 2024,” Broadhurst wrote in a statement posted on social media Sept. 5.

Broadhurst said he considered the next federal election to be the “most critical federal election campaign of my life” and one that would see Canadians “decide about the type of politics that they find acceptable.”

“Given the stakes involved, the Prime Minister, the Liberal Party of Canada and all its candidates deserve someone who can bring more energy and devotion to the job than I can at this stage of my life,” he said.

Broadhurst added that since he became national campaign director a year ago, he had increasingly thought about the “physical, mental and emotional effort” that had been required of him over the past 20 years in politics, and how it had impacted his family.

“I have come to the conclusion that I cannot ask them to sacrifice another year,” he said.

Broadhurst said he is still committed to the Liberal Party and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and is “tremendously proud to have been able to take part in this effort.”

As an active participant in Liberal Party campaigns for three decades, Broadhurst played key roles in the party’s victories during the 2015, 2019, and 2021 elections. Prior to that, he ran three campaigns for Liberal MP and former interim leader Bill Graham in the riding of Toronto Centre-Rosedale.

Broadhurst was also a former national director of the Liberal Party, as was an advisor to former Liberal leaders Stéphane Dion and Michael Ignatieff and interim leader Bob Rae. He also held roles as the former chief of staff to Chrystia Freeland when she was foreign affairs minister.

The news of Broadhurst stepping down came one day after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced his party had pulled out of the supply and confidence agreement it signed with the governing Liberals in March 2022. That deal saw the NDP support the government in confidence matters until June 2025, while the Liberals would in turn support NDP priorities such as pharmacare and dental care.

Broadhurst’s decision also comes as the Liberal Party has been trailing the Conservatives in the polls for over a year, with the latest Leger poll showing they have the support of 25 percent of Canadians compared to the Tories’ at 43 percent and NDP at 15 percent.

The Liberals suffered a surprise loss in the Toronto-St. Paul’s byelection race in June, with the party losing a seat they had held since 1993 to the Conservatives.

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan also abruptly announced his resignation from cabinet in July. In August, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez indicated he is being courted to run in the Quebec Liberal Party’s leadership race.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment.