Liberal cabinet and caucus members say they’re focused on putting the party’s “best foot forward” for the next federal election, a sentiment that comes amid continued pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership.
The calls for a secret ballot over recent days have come a week after 24 members of caucus signed on to a letter calling on the prime minister to step down, but saw Trudeau say he would lead his party into the next election.
Yvan Baker, one of the MPs calling for a secret ballot, said proposals have been made by himself and other MPs for Trudeau to allow it to go ahead.
“The ball’s now in the prime minister’s court,” he told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday. “I think the question should be asked to the prime minister if he supports a secret ballot.”
He said MPs who made such proposals, like himself, have not yet heard back from Trudeau, but added he wouldn’t speculate what would happen if a response wasn’t given.
Prior to the meeting, Health Minister Mark Holland said a secret ballot is against how they choose their leader.
“We have a constitution that determines the leadership process in our party and he absolutely has the support of caucus,” Holland told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday. “I think party members would not only be confused but angry if we circumvented the convention.”
Parties have the opportunity to decide if they’ll utilize Reform Act measures, allowing MPs to force a leadership review, after each election. But the Liberals did not do so after the 2021 vote, and as a result, the Liberal caucus has no other mechanism to depose Trudeau even if a majority of MPs want him to go
Following a caucus meeting on Wednesday, some MPs said the matter of a secret ballot was not raised.
MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who is not running for re-election, told reporters after the meeting that the focus behind closed doors was on the Liberals’ campaign strategy to win the next vote, including a presentation by national campaign director Andrew Bevan.
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“I think the overall focus is what comes next, how do we make sure we’re putting our best foot forward on the campaign front,” Erskine-Smith said.
The comments were echoed by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, who wouldn’t divulge what Bevan’s presentation contained but said the party was united.
“This is a resolute group of people, we have an opponent that we disagree stridently with,” MacKinnon said. “I think everyone agrees we have to do a better job presenting the contrast to Canadians and offering them a clearer, more sharper choice, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Judy Sgro, a longtime Liberal MP, argued having a secret ballot was not allowing the party to focus on defeating Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the next election.
“I’ve been through five leaders, this is my fifth leader, most of the time they’re unpopular but we still manage to win,” Sgro said. “Our party likes our leader, don’t kid yourself, whole lot of this is propaganda that’s ongoing.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller also told reporters that he would like to see the calls for Trudeau to resign to come to an end.
He said though he respects his colleagues opinions, it was “utter silliness” to focus on anything but defeating Poilievre.
“We stand up in the House of Commons in public, we show our faces, we put our faces on posters every four years, some of us have our riding offices ransacked, we do absolutely everything in public,” Miller said.
“The caucus is a space for things to be done in private, but for people to actually show their faces and say exactly what they mean and want the prime minister to do and that’s what they’re doing, so I don’t see the need for a secret ballot.”
The latest effort to oust Trudeau comes as the Liberals continue to trail in opinion polls.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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