Justin Trudeau has the full support of his cabinet to continue as Canada’s prime minister, newly appointed Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters on Thursday.
LeBlanc, who was in New Brunswick, was asked during a press conference if Trudeau has the full support of his cabinet to stay on after the political tumult within the government in recent days since the sudden resignation of former finance minister Chrystia Freeland.
“Yes,” LeBlanc said in response.
LeBlanc was also asked if he would consider an opportunity to lead the country if he were given the chance.
“If the prime minister has the full support of his cabinet, then why would we contemplate what happens after he decides to leave?” he said.
When asked about Liberal MPs who have expressed a lack of confidence in Trudeau, LeBlanc said, “They, in a caucus meeting, expressed those views directly to the prime minister himself. He listened, he in some cases responded to specific things that were raised and he said he would reflect carefully on what he’s heard.”
Justice Minister Arif Virani, who held a press conference earlier on Thursday morning in Toronto, did not directly say whether Trudeau enjoys his confidence to continue as prime minister.
“I have absolute confidence in his orientation towards the work that he has given me to do,” Virani said.
On Monday, the resignation of Freeland as finance minister just hours before she was scheduled to present the fall economic statement threw the Trudeau government into chaos.
LeBlanc, who has served in cabinet since 2015 and has been an MP since 2000, was sworn in at Rideau Hall to the role of finance minister on Monday.