Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 22.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to face MPs in a meeting that gives them a chance to say to his face what many have been saying to each other for months: It is time for him to resign.
Many of the rank-and-file in the Liberal caucus have discussed in fits and starts for months that Mr. Trudeau ought to step away and give someone else a chance to win re-election for the party come the next election, but 10 days ago those discussions coalesced into a flat-out effort by some MPs to convince their peers to sign on to a statement calling for him to go.
On Wednesday, a weekly closed-door caucus meeting will give those MPs the opportunity to voice their concerns directly to the Prime Minister.
Only three MPs have publicly said they’d sign on to the statement, but one of them – New Brunswick MP Wayne Long – told The Globe and Mail he believes the total number of signatories is sizable.
“It’s legit, it’s certainly nothing to be dismissed,” he said Tuesday, while noting that he is not organizing the effort. “It’s my expectation that the letter will be presented tomorrow and discussed.”
“It’s about standing up for what I feel is best for the party, and what’s best for the party is a clear change in leadership,” said Mr. Long. “I’m not proud to say it. I’m not itching to say it, but it needs to be said and I’m hoping that others will join suit.”
On Tuesday, it was cabinet ministers taking to the microphones in front of reporters to profess their faith in Mr. Trudeau.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said based on the calls she’s been making over the last 36 hours she believes the “vast majority” of Liberal MPs support Mr. Trudeau now and into the future.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller called the grumblings about the need for him to go “garbage” that distracts from the need to fight back against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Other cabinet ministers, including Health Minister Mark Holland and Gender Equality Minister Marci Ien, acknowledged there is dissent and called it a healthy part of caucus debate.
A senior government official echoed comments by cabinet ministers who said Mr. Trudeau intends to lead the party into the next election. Mr. Trudeau has no plans to resign, the official said, and they have not received a letter spelling out the demands from some in caucus, as was the plan first detailed last week by MPs who spoke to The Globe privately.
The Globe is not identifying the official who was not permitted to disclose the private deliberations. The Prime Minister’s Office did not reply to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Two MPs have told The Globe that at least 20 have signed the written statement. Signatories aside, among the more than two dozen Liberal MPs who have spoken with The Globe over the past two weeks, there is widespread sentiment Mr. Trudeau must take direct responsibility for the party’s current inability to connect meaningfully with voters.
The Globe is not identifying the MPs who did not want to discuss publicly internal matters.
Some point to the loss of two seats they considered safe in by-elections this year. One pointed all the way back to the fall of 2022 and a promised plan to take on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who had just been elected leader – a plan that the MP said simply did not materialize. When asked by The Globe what they made of the current tensions, another long-time MP hung them on the Liberals nearing their 10th anniversary in government and people’s refusal to accept that their time in office might be up.
How many want to stand up and say any of that – let alone directly call for Mr. Trudeau to go – during Wednesday’s caucus meeting is unclear. MPs have to submit their names to Liberal caucus chair Brenda Shanahan in order to obtain a speaking slot and then are called upon to speak.
Should Mr. Trudeau refuse to quit, the next steps are also unclear. Liberal MPs don’t have an automatic way to force Mr. Trudeau out, as Conservative MPs did when they chose to vote out former leader Erin O’Toole in 2022 under the provisions of a law known as the Reform Act. Parliamentary caucuses must vote at their first meeting after a general election on whether to adopt the legislation, and the Liberals did not do so after the 2021 campaign.
Demanding a secret ballot vote on whether he should resign is one idea under discussion, at least two MPs have told The Globe, to better showcase the scale of the frustration and account for those who won’t take the microphone for fear of retribution. But Mr. Holland said Tuesday, there is no need for that – the point of caucus meetings is to find consensus, and if there isn’t any, that will become obvious.
Mr. Holland said everyone he talks to supports the Prime Minister, describing him as someone who takes punches like no one he has ever seen, gets attacked relentlessly and is blamed for every problem in the world.
“This is a guy who’s taken responsibility for everything, tried to find solutions to every problem, and yes, right now, that means everybody’s blaming him,” Mr. Holland said.
Against the backdrop of the discontent, Mr. Trudeau will soon shuffle his cabinet to account for the four ministers who last week declared they weren’t running again. The party has also recently named Andrew Bevan, the chief of staff to the Finance Minister, as campaign director.
The next scheduled election is in the fall of 2025, but given the minority status of the government, that election could also come at any time.