Liberal backlash against Justin Trudeau is exaggerated, ministers say

Photo: Adrian Wyld The Canadian Press Liberal concerns about the leadership of their leader, Justin Trudeau, are not new, with polls stagnating behind the Conservatives and the departure, already effective or not, of several ministers.

Boris Proulx and Sandrine Vieira in Ottawa

Published yesterday at 12:04 Updated yesterday at 16:35

• Canada

The internal revolt against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be just a storm in a teacup, judging by the serenity displayed by his government ministers at a time when a critical letter from the leader is circulating among the Liberals.

“If people are telling each other things in secret, I think it lacks courage,” lamented Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, on Tuesday morning.

He later added in English that he did not have a minute to lose on “this stupidity” – in reference to this secret letter, to which no media has had access and whose exact demands remain unclear. No one knows for sure how many elected officials would have signed it.

The Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos, has outright questioned the existence of the document which, according to MP Wayne Long, quoted by the daily Toronto Star, only calls for “reflection and change” on the part of the leader.

“As far as I know, no one has seen this letter and not many MPs have talked about it, so we’ll see if this letter exists,” he said upon arriving at Tuesday morning’s cabinet meeting, where he was scheduled to meet with Justin Trudeau.

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A Letter of Discontent, Not Threats

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said he did not know of any elected official who signed it. “I have spoken to many MPs over the last few weeks. […] I have yet to meet any MP who has told me they signed that letter,” he assured reporters.

Liberal MP Mona Fortier even went so far as to call it a pipe dream. “No one has called me to sign a letter. It’s always a phantom letter!” she said Tuesday.

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Three Liberal MPs who signed the letter, including Newfoundlander Ken McDonald, told Radio-Canada Tuesday that they are not prepared to go so far as to leave the caucus. The letter is intended to express discontent, not threats, the Avalon MP explained.

According to multiple media reports, the letter is to be presented to the prime minister at Wednesday morning’s Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa. They could then speak in an open-mike session or hold a secret internal vote on their leader’s future. It’s unclear what approach will be taken.

On Monday, Liberal MP Sean Casey confirmed he had signed the letter, but declined to say how many signatures had been collected. The MP for Charlottetown, P.E.I., was the first to publicly call for Trudeau’s resignation.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said “the majority of the caucus” disagrees with Casey, but said it’s important to engage with MPs who hold dissenting views. Like all other ministers, he is required to support his leader through ministerial solidarity.

A difficult context for the LPC

The Liberals’ concerns about their leader’s leadership are not new. In addition to seeing its rating stagnate in national polls for over a year, the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) has lost many important players in recent weeks. Four ministers have recently announced that they will not run in the next election.

The former Minister of Transport and Justin Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant, Pablo Rodriguez, has also left the caucus to sit as an independent MP while waiting to be able to run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.

On the first day of Parliament in Ottawa, the Liberals also lost the Montreal riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun to the Bloc Québécois. It was a second major setback for the Liberal leader, after his defeat to the Conservatives in another Liberal stronghold, Toronto-St. Paul’s, in a previous by-election in June. Despite this, Mr. Trudeau has insisted that he intends to remain leader of his party.

Last week, the LPC announced that it had chosen a replacement for Jeremy Broadhurst, who resigned as national campaign director in September. The Liberal leader is Andrew Bevan, who has been chief of staff to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland since last year.

Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives currently have a twenty-point lead over the Liberals in all polls, suggesting a Conservative landslide in the next election.

If an election were held today, 43% of voters would vote Conservative, while 22% would vote Liberal, and 19% would vote NDP, according to the most recent Abacus poll. The Bloc Québécois would obtain 36% of the votes in Quebec (for a total of 8% of the votes in Canada).

A “super gag” to unblock Parliament ?

With only one week left before the October 29 deadline imposed by the Bloc Québécois, Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet is also asking the Liberals to implement a “super gag” to pass the legislation he is keen on on time.

This motion would propose in particular to accelerate the process of adopting the two Bloc bills and would allow for a vote on the Conservative privilege motion, which has paralyzed work in the House for 11 days. However, the Liberals do not seem to be taking any steps in this direction for the moment, indicated Mr. Blanchet.

The Bloc leader is maintaining the deadline of October 29, after which he will begin discussions with the opposition parties with a view to bringing down the Trudeau government.