The ongoing behind-the-scenes efforts within the Liberal caucus to convince Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down as leader have revealed a split, with some MPs coming to his support, while others have gone public with their call for change.
Reports emerged on Oct. 12 that some MPs had been in closed-door discussions around convincing the prime minister to step down.
On Oct. 15, Liberal MP Sean Casey became the first to publicly call for Trudeau to step down following reports of the caucus revolt. In a television interview on CBC News, the MP from Prince Edward Island said he had been getting a message from his constituents “loud and clear” that it was “time for him to go.”
“People have had enough. They’ve tuned him out, and they want him to go,” Casey said, adding that the number of Liberal MPs who also wanted the prime minister to step down was “wider than what meets the eye.” He said Liberal MPs have a variety of concerns with Trudeau, and have become “more emboldened with time.”
Following the interview, Casey said he had received phone calls of support from “half a dozen Liberal MPs” who thanked him for speaking out. He said these included fellow P.E.I. MPs Bobby Morrissey and Heath MacDonald.
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said during an Oct. 15 interview that while he supports “whoever is leader of my party at all times,” he also felt there should be a “robust caucus discussion” about the best person to lead the Liberals in the next election. He also said those conversations should not happen in front of the media.
When asked if he had been a part of that discussion, Housefather responded he hoped “the entire caucus and the prime minister are part of that discussion.” He said talks about how best to win the next election should “happen in every party at all times”
In June, Liberal MP Wayne Long sent an email to his caucus mates where he said for the good of Canada and the Liberal Party, they needed “new leadership and a new direction.” According to a media report by Global News, Newfoundland and Labrador MP Ken McDonald, who had previously called for a leadership review in January but later backtracked, responded to the email by writing “well said.”
Back in September, on the sidelines of the Liberal Party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., Quebec Liberal MP Alexandra Mendès said “dozens and dozens” of her constituents had said they wanted to see Trudeau step down, but that she was not calling for that to happen.
Who Has Come Out in Support
During an Oct. 18 press conference, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the prime minister has her “full support,” and reiterated that Trudeau had been “very clear that he intends to lead us in an election.”“I am absolutely confident that the vast majority of members of our caucus support the prime minister,” she added.
Trade Minister Mary Ng said on Oct. 12 that she had confidence in the prime minister and was “disappointed“ by the caucus revolt. “I would say that I’m disappointed because Canadians expect us to be focusing on Canadians ... I’m a Liberal MP and I have full confidence in Justin Trudeau as my leader,” she told reporters.
Liberal MP Chandra Arya also came out in support of Trudeau, saying he was the “right guy” to lead the party into the next election. “I look at the macro level, what we have achieved under his leadership, while I may not agree with the far too left policies, I recognize the things that have been achieved under his leadership,” he said.
Arya added that Trudeau’s popularity numbers were down because of the cost-of-living crisis, but that improving economic conditions would make Canadians more receptive to the Liberal Party’s message.
Liberal MP George Chahal has also come out in support of Trudeau, telling reporters on Oct. 17 that he believes in “the vision the prime minister . . . brought forward” and that Trudeau would continue to lead the party “until he decides, or chooses, that he does not want to.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault recently said the prime minister had his “entire trust and support,” while Minister of Public Services and Procurement Jean-Yves Duclos said the “vast majority” of Liberal MPs were focused on making Canadians’ lives better and “other questions of interest to MPs need to be discussed within the caucus.”
Liberal MP Filomena Tassi, one of four cabinet ministers who announced on Oct. 17 they would not be running for re-election, said in a statement that she believed in the prime minister in 2015 “and believe in him now.”
Electoral Problems
The Liberal Party does not have a mechanism for MPs to recall a leader during a mandate, meaning MPs would not be able to vote Trudeau out as leader as the Conservative Party did with leader Erin O'Toole in early 2022. Trudeau has repeatedly said he intends to lead the party through the next election.Discontent grew within the Liberal Party in June after the surprise byelection loss of the previously safe riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s to the Conservatives. The party lost another safe riding in the Montreal riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun to the Bloc Québécois in September. The latest Nanos Research poll from Oct. 15 shows the Liberals holding support among 23 percent of Canadians, compared with the Tories at 39 percent, and the NDP at 21 percent.
The party’s long-time national campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst quit in September, and was replaced by Andrew Bevan in October. Bevan has been serving as chief of staff to Deputy Prime Minister Freeland and as a senior adviser to Trudeau.
Trudeau has so far downplayed the Liberal caucus revolt, saying MPs should be focused on supporting Canada during its diplomatic rift with India. He said on Oct. 14 there would be time to talk about “internal party intrigue at another moment.”
