Trudeau Has Backing of Cabinet and ‘Vast Majority’ of Liberal Caucus: Immigration Minister Miller

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller speaks in the Foyer of the House of Commons before Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 12, 2024. The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle

The day before a Liberal caucus meeting where disgruntled MPs are expected to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the “vast majority” of caucus and the entire cabinet support Trudeau.

Miller told reporters before the cabinet meeting on Oct. 22 he “absolutely” believes Liberals can win the next election under Trudeau’s leadership and continue the work his government has been doing over the past nine years.

“It’s up to Canadians to decide. We have to prove it to Canadians,” said Miller. “And any minute spent on this garbage is a minute that’s not spent on Pierre Poilievre and what he wants to do to this country,” he added, referring to talk of the caucus revolt.

Every minister who spoke to reporters on their way to the cabinet meeting expressed support for Trudeau. “I have absolute confidence in the prime minister, ” said Ya'ara Saks, minister of mental health and addictions.

In recent days a letter has been circulating within the Liberal caucus to garner support to ask the prime minister to step down. The content has not been disclosed publicly, nor the list of names it bears.

Miller said he doesn’t know the number of MPs who have signed it and described efforts behind the scenes by his disgruntled colleagues as “lacking courage.”

Very few Liberal MPs have openly called for Trudeau to step down, with P.E.I. MP Sean Casey being one. “People have had enough. They’ve tuned him out, and they want him to go,” Casey said about Trudeau during a recent interview with CBC News.

Ministers who were asked about the letter before the cabinet meeting said they had not seen it.

“I haven’t seen letter, I guess they know my opinion on it, so I didn’t get a copy of it,” said Health Minister Mark Holland.

Holland said he viewed the exercise as a “positive thing” and a sign of a healthy caucus.

“I think having a debate as a party about our future and where we should go is something that I welcome. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think it’s a sign of a strong democratic caucus,” he said.

Holland said different views need to be presented on charting the party’s path forward and decisions need to be made by caucus members on whether they'll stay on for the next election. “At certain point in time, this has to resolve itself,” he said.

Four ministers announced in recent days they would not be seeking re-election, including National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.

Senior ministers also left cabinet this year, including Seamus O'Regan at labour and Pablo Rodriguez at transport.

The moves have come as Liberals are in a precarious position in the polls, trailing the Tories by a large margin.

Trudeau’s leadership has been under increasing pressure since the loss of the byelection in the Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St.Paul’s in late June.

Since then, Liberals have lost another stronghold in a September Montreal byelection. The NDP also pulled out of its deal keeping the minority Liberals in power until June 2025.

Trudeau has so far remained committed to leading the party in the next election, scheduled for October 2025.