Disgruntled members of Canada’s Liberal party have given Justin Trudeau an ultimatum: decide early next week if you want to stay on as leader, or face the prospects of a caucus revolt.
The prime minister met with Liberal lawmakers in a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday where 20 MPs – none of them cabinet members – called on their leader to resign before a likely electoral drubbing in the next election.
Two dozen lawmakers also signed a letter calling on Trudeau to make his decision by 28 October, but failed to give any clear consequence.
There are 153 Liberal members of parliament, suggesting the mutiny still lacks widespread support. Although questions over Trudeau’s political future are mounting, no alternative leader for the party has stepped forward to oppose him.
In his ninth year as prime minister, Trudeau is deeply unpopular and facing calls within his party to step down to avoid an embarrassing electoral loss that could push the party to a distant third-place finish.
The CBC Poll Tracker shows the Conservatives have a nearly 20-point lead over the governing Liberals.
Two by-election results over the summer gave wary lawmakers even more reason to question Trudeau’s future tenure as leader: the party lost the riding of LaSalle–Émard–Verdun, a district that had been held almost exclusively by Liberals for more than 50 years and months earlier lost a safe seat in downtown Toronto.
The losses reflect a souring public opinion of Trudeau’s government: the cost of living has surged alongside a housing shortage, and policy failures and mismanagement have eroded strong support for immigration.
Trudeau has nonetheless said he intends to contest – and win – the next federal election, which would happen anytime before fall 2025.
Leaving Wednesday’s three-hour meeting, senior figures in cabinet reiterated their support for the embattled prime minister. Immigration minister Marc Miller, a key ally of Trudeau, said he expects the Liberal leader to contest the next election against Tory rival Pierre Poilievre.
“This isn’t a code red situation. The prime minister can sure as hell handle the truth,” he said, adding he “respects the hell out of my colleagues who were brave and stood up and said things to [Trudeau’s] face”.
Other MPs suggested Trudeau might keep the confidence of the party if he and his inner circle were to make significant changes to how they’re handling both policy and messaging.
“The prime minister has to listen to the frustrations – in some cases, very valid frustrations of caucus colleagues – and incorporate that into changes moving forward,” said Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.
Trudeau said little when he emerged from the caucus gathering, except to tell reporters: “The Liberal party is strong and united.”
