Liberal MPs emerged from their latest caucus meeting steadfast in their support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau only a day after a petition to oust the Liberal Party of Canada leader was leaked to the media.
Several MPs, when asked about the fate of their leader and how the caucus meeting went, echoed that they remained united against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and signalled that Trudeau had no intention of backing out of the fight.
“What’s important is that we’re united now. We’re united in our desire to serve Canadians and win the next election,” the Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said. “It’s like a dinner table. At the end of the dinner, we all need to come on and relent this focus on serving Canadians and winning the next election.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said he was happy that caucus members had aired their grievances privately.
“We still have some stuff to sort out, but I think it was a great conversation. People were honest and weren’t doing it as a sort of whisper campaign so I’m actually quite proud,” Miller told reporters after leaving the meeting.
The Liberal MP for Beaches–East York, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, said the party needs to turn their “knives outwards and not inwards.”
“We need to focus on the most important thing, which is getting things done here in Parliament and taking the fight to Pierre Poilievre because he’s a disaster for this country,” he said. “(the next election’s) going to be a choice between Pierre Poilievre and probably Justin Trudeau, but the Liberal leader, and that’s going to be a very important choice for getting to make in terms of the direction of the country.”
Some Liberal members who are unhappy with Trudeau have asked him to make way for a new leader and for a confidence vote to be held by the party and caucus so a new leader could be chosen before June 2025.
A petition to the current president of the LPC, Sachit Mehra, and the chair of the National Caucus, Brenda Shanahan, leaked to the Toronto Star Tuesday, spearheaded by the former president of the LPC, Alfred Apps, says Trudeau has to go to address the current threats to the party’s “very survival.”
“Those threats include growing hostility to our leader, coupled with the failure of our current policy platform to attract and inspire support from Canadians, especially young Canadians, and the need to modernize and rebuild our Party’s infrastructure and organization,” the petition said.
“We believe in the need for a strong Canadian political party that is truly ‘liberal’ — a party whose policy platform is socially progressive, fiscally responsible and, above all, forward-looking.”
The petition “formally requested” that the National Executive and National Caucus meet separately to address the Liberal party’s poor polling numbers through a confidence vote, recent by-election defeats in St Paul’s and LaSalle Emard ridings, and change leadership.”
The letter asks that the results of each confidence vote be reported to Trudeau, and if he decides to resign, he should do so “as quickly as possible” so the party can elect a new leader no later than June 1, 2025.
“If the leader chooses to remain in office, it is critical that he make a statement to the Party addressing his support for the urgent need to both rebuild the Party, from coast-to-coast-to-coast, modernize its online platform for national fundraising, consultation, communication, and training purposes, and proceed with concrete policy platform renewal initiatives to be concluded no later than July 31, 2025,” the petition said.
The LPC membership petition leaked after news of a letter, which has been reported but has yet to be seen by the public. At least 20 Liberal MPs’ signatures also called for the Prime Minister’s resignation.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Mark Holland questioned the existence of the letter in Ottawa.
“I haven’t seen the letter. I guess they know my opinion on it, so I didn’t get a copy of it. But I think these conversations around how we deal with the difficult times that we’re in, and how we try to find answers and how we try to lead are totally appropriate,” Health Minister Mark Holland said to reporters ahead of the caucus meeting on Tuesday.
He affirmed his support for Trudeau and said electing a “new magical leader” wouldn’t be like using a “magic wand” to fix all the parties’ problems.