In the face of a leadership challenge, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that the Liberal Party is “strong and united” despite frustrations within the caucus amid an internal revolt.
Trudeau did not take any questions from reporters after a caucus meeting, where some party members urged him to step down as the party leader.
Between 20 and 30 Liberal MPs have signed an internal document calling on Trudeau to step aside, sources have told Global News.
Many of those MPs aired their concerns to Trudeau during the meeting and gave him a deadline of Oct. 28 to confirm if he is staying or going, Global News has learned. It was not clear what consequences Trudeau would face for missing that deadline.
Several MPs came out of the meeting Wednesday afternoon, saying the party was united, but they were tight-lipped about what exactly happened behind the closed doors.
“We have shared all sorts of views, including the prime minister, and think that we need to do even better,” said Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.
Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said there are some “valid frustrations” within the party, but they had a “constructive conversation.”
“I think it’s really important when you have so many colleagues that are expressing frustration; I’ve expressed frustration over the years at different times, it’s very important that that feedback is listened to, it’s very important that ultimately, there are some changes to respond to that, it’s very important that the trust is re-earned of those caucus colleagues,” he told reporters after the meeting.
François-Philippe Champagne, the minister of innovation, science and industry, said “what happens in caucus is like a family.”
“You need to listen to each other. You need to make sure you welcome the views of people. But at the end, it’s like a dinner table, at the end of the dinner, we all need to come out in relentless focus on serving Canadians and winning the next election.”
The MPs have no formal mechanism to depose Trudeau as party leader, which means the decision on whether to stay or go is ultimately up to him.
Sean Casey, who is among the Liberal MPs who have signed on to the internal document calling on Trudeau to step aside, told reporters before Wednesday’s meeting that he wishes there was a mechanism for a secret ballot vote.
While the Conservative caucus has adopted a rule allowing them to oust a leader via secret ballot vote, the Liberals do not have that mechanism in place.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre alluded to the fractions within the Liberal caucus during question period Wednesday, responding to the routine standing standing ovation he receives from his caucus by thanking them for their support and calling on the revolting Liberals to help the Conservatives trigger an election.
Liberals responded with a standing ovation for Trudeau in return as the prime minister rose to answer Poilievre, saying the “Liberal Party, and the Liberal government, is totally united in holding the Conservative Party to account.”
Ahead of the meeting, several ministers put up a united front on Tuesday, saying they back Trudeau “unequivocally” in leading the Liberal Party and the country.
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault called the internal Liberal revolt a “palace drama” that is distracting from important issues facing Canadians.
“There’s what would you call some palace drama going on right now and that takes us away from the number one job, which is focusing on Canadians and focusing on the important policies, but also on showing the really clear contrast between our government, our party, and Pierre Poilievre,” he told reporters on his way to Wednesday’s caucus meeting.
Pressure has been mounting on Trudeau’s Liberals since the summer, which saw two major byelection losses on top of the NDP withdrawing support from the supply-and-confidence agreement last month.
Meanwhile, support for Trudeau and his Liberal government has hit a “new low,” Ipsos polling exclusive to Global News shows, after more than a year of trailing the Conservatives by double digits.
Last week saw four more cabinet ministers tell Trudeau they won’t run for re-election, adding to a growing cabinet exodus and other MP resignations this year.
Those resigning ministers and the rest of cabinet have remained unified in expressing support for Trudeau to continue as leader.
— with files from Global News’ Mackenzie Gray, David Akin and Jillian Piper, and The Canadian Press