Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will have to reshuffle his cabinet once again in the wake of four cabinet ministers announcing that they won’t be seeking reelection. This comes as Trudeau faces a growing movement within the Liberal caucus calling for him to step down as leader.
Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Sports Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Economic Development for Southern Ontario Filomena Tassi and Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal informed Trudeau that they won’t be running again in the next federal election.
All four were elected in the 2015 election.
Bibeau said she may consider a run for mayor of Sherbrooke when the city has its election next fall.
While Trudeau has yet to announce an exact date, sources told Radio-Canada that a cabinet reshuffle is coming in the next few weeks as all four positions will require replacements.
The prime minister was told by some of his advisors to wait until the U.S. election has concluded before making the new appointments, which would mean a cabinet shuffle wouldn’t occur until at least Nov. 5.
News of their departure marks as many as 24 elected members of the Liberal caucus who now won’t be seeking reelection.
Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan and Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez both announced they would be stepping down in recent months. Rodriguez has indicated that he will be seeking the Quebec Liberals leadership.
Outside of cabinet ministers, seven MPs have also resigned since the last election in 2021, including former ministers Marc Garneau, David Lametti and Carolyn Bennett.
The prime minister conducted a major shuffle last year, however, it failed to give Trudeau an edge over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the polls, whose party currently holds a 20-point lead over the Liberals.
Multiple sources within Trudeau’s circle recently told the media that a plan has been in the works for MPs to call for him to resign over a week behind closed doors.
They are expected to inform Trudeau personally at the next caucus meeting on Wednesday.
That news is in addition to Liberal backbencher Sean Casey being the first MP to publicly call for Trudeau to resign as an internal petition demanding he step down circulates among MPs.
The Charlottetown MP told CBC News in an interview that Trudeau’s leadership is a prominent problem for many voters in his riding.
“The message that I’ve been getting loud and clear — and more and more strongly as time goes by — is that it is time for [Trudeau] to go. And I agree,” said Casey on Tuesday. “People have had enough. They’ve tuned him out and they want him to go.”
Casey’s comments make him the first MP to publicly call for Trudeau to step down, however, multiple sources told the media that the sentiment has reached the Liberal cabinet behind closed doors. After two major byelection losses this year, first in Toronto-St. Paul’s and then LaSalle––Émard—Verdun in Montreal, many MPs feel Trudeau is to blame.