Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses caucus during a meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing down his Liberal caucus in a hotly anticipated meeting Wednesday morning, as a group of party members plan to try to convince him to step aside.
Rumours have circulated for weeks about an undisclosed number of Liberal MPs who have signed on to an effort to oust the prime minister in the hopes of improving the party’s chances in the next election.
Trudeau has showed no signs that he plans to step down from the top job.
Newfoundland MP Ken McDonald, who has already said he does not plan to run in the next election, said some of his colleagues who do plan to put their name on the ballot are nervous because of poor polling numbers.
He said he signed on to a letter that will be presented to Trudeau at the meeting, but he’s not sure how many others have done the same. MPs have been careful not to reveal what exactly the letter says.
“We’ll see how the prime minister responds to our ask today,” he told reporters on his way into the meeting, adding that the message to Trudeau is that “he has to start listening, listening to the people.”
But when pressed on what exactly that means, McDonald said, “I don’t think it means resigning.”
McDonald publicly called for the party to hold a leadership review back in January, but later walked those comments back.
New Brunswick MP Wayne Long and P.E.I. MP Sean Casey have also said they have signed the letter.
When asked about the possibility of a secret ballot vote on their confidence in the prime minister’s leadership, Casey said Wednesday he wished such a mechanism existed in the Liberal party.
Several other MPs stopped to speak to reporters on their way into the meeting to offer words of support for Trudeau, and said they have not seen or signed the letter.
Ontario MP Judy Sgro told reporters that attempts to oust Trudeau are damaging to the whole party.
“When you look divided, you look weak,” she said.
Trudeau’s personal poll numbers plummeted more than a year ago, and the Liberals have consistently trailed the Conservatives in national polls for a year.
Successive byelection losses over the summer in Toronto and Montreal have compounded concerns about his leadership. Caucus members asked for a meeting over the summer to address those concerns but were turned down. Instead, the prime minister spoke with his MPs one-on-one and in smaller groups.
Wednesday’s meeting will likely not be the final word on the debate, said Quebec Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi on his way into West Block.
“I don’t think that we can actually come to a conclusion today because there are many different opinions. I want to hear my colleagues, what they have to say,” he said.
When asked whether he supports the prime minister, Zuberi would only say he supports having the conversation in caucus.
British Columbia MP Ken Hardie said he also wants to hear what his colleagues say before he makes any public statements.
“There are all kinds of wheels within wheels turning right now,” he said. “I’m just going to go in there, I’m going to make my mind a blank and just soak it all in.”
The Liberal caucus has no formal mechanism to depose Trudeau as leader, which means the decision is ultimately up to him.
The prime minister was smiling as he made his way into the meeting Wednesday, but he didn’t offer any comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
