Minister Boissonnault supports Trudeau, threatened by a revolt

Photo: Adrian Wyld archives The Canadian Press Randy Boissonnault and Justin Trudeau during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on July 26, 2023

Léo Mercier-Ross

Posted at 3:49 PM Updated at 4:21 PM

• Canada

Canada’s Minister of Employment and Official Languages ​​Randy Boissonnault solidified his support for Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, as a growing number of Liberal MPs try to convince the prime minister to resign. The Liberal leader, however, appears to retain the support of his cabinet.

On the sidelines of the federal government’s 2024 Workforce Summit, Boissonnault said he had “fought three elections alongside Mr. Trudeau” and that he intended to “fight a fourth alongside him.” “Everybody who bet against Justin Trudeau woke up the next day regretting having made that bet,” he said, noting that “these are discussions that can happen.”

Minister Boissonnault was questioned about the recent statement by Charlottetown Liberal MP Sean Casey, who called for the Liberal leader to step down for the good of the party in an interview on CBC's Power&Politics on Tuesday.

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A brewing revolt

Last weekend, several media outlets reported the existence of a letter circulating in the Liberal caucus and signed by MPs demanding Justin Trudeau's resignation.

Details on the strategy and scope of this Liberal revolt remain unclear, although an MP who is not involved in the movement told The Canadian Press that the number of elected officials involved was not insignificant and that, this time, it is not a simple rumor.

Federal Minister of International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng said Friday she had “full confidence in Justin Trudeau as a leader,” learning of the efforts as she returned from Laos, where she was attending a summit of Southeast Asian nations with Trudeau. “I would say I'm disappointed because Canadians expect us to focus on Canadians,” Ng added.

Several other Liberals contacted by The Canadian Press on Friday said they had not been approached to join the revolt and suggested that ministers seen as solidly behind Justin Trudeau are being sidelined.

Growing discontent

Justin Trudeau has still managed to maintain his grip on the Liberal Party of Canada despite his government’s slide in the polls, which put Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives firmly in the lead.

Discontent intensified in late June after the Conservatives lost the Toronto-St. Paul’s riding to the Conservatives in a by-election, but an attempt to oust him at that time managed to garner the support of only one or two MPs at most.

Tensions eased somewhat over the summer, but flared up again in September after the New Democratic Party withdrew from its support agreement with the Liberal Party, the Liberal Party’s national campaign director left and the party was defeated by the Bloc Québécois in the Montreal by-election in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun.

The Liberal government has survived two confidence votes since Parliament returned, but Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet has given it until the end of October to respond to his demands for an expanded Old Age Security pension and protection of supply management in agriculture.

With The Canadian Press.