Politics

    • 'Maybe we should have a discussion': What Liberal MPs are saying about Justin Trudeau's leadership

    Share

    As the federal Liberal caucus convened in Ottawa for its back-to-the-Hill strategy meeting, questions are swirling again around how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's MPs are feeling about his continued leadership.

    While most MPs who were asked, as they filed in and out of the first day of Liberal caucus meetings, indicated a continued confidence in the prime minister three elections in, others suggested perhaps there's room to at least have a conversation to clear the air.

    "I think the prime minister still carries a lot of credibility with the voters. Should there be a review? Maybe we should have a discussion on that," Northwest Territories Liberal MP Michael McLeod said.

    He suggested this function could become a routine after each election, "to see if all the MPs still have that same commitment."

    McLeod said that "time will tell" how the Liberals end up after the next election, noting some of his constituents have expressed an interest in seeing what other options are out there.

    "I think the prime minister still carries the Liberal brand very well and can still do a good job," he said.

    Ontario Liberal MP Vance Badawey said he doesn't see the need for a leadership review right now as he's focused on seeing his party "get better at the business of government, not getting better at the business of politics."

    British Columbia Liberal MP Patrick Weiler said that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

    "I have full confidence in the prime minister, I wouldn't be here if I didn't have that confidence," said Liberal Ontario MP Filomena Tassi.

    The conversation around Trudeau's leadership bubbled up to the surface again Wednesday after Liberal Newfoundland MP Ken McDonald, in an interview with Radio-Canada, suggested Trudeau should face a leadership review to allow MPs to deliberate whether they think he's past his expiry date.

    CTV News reached out to McDonald for comment but his office declined a request for an interview.

    In a statement released late Wednesday evening, McDonald said he has "continued to serve proudly as a member of the Liberal caucus" since he was elected in 2015.

    "The intent of my recent public comments was not to personally call for a leadership review, and I am not calling for one now," he added.

    "As I said, I believe that the Prime Minister is a smart politician, a great campaigner, and I know he still has the best interest of Canadians at heart. I will continue to support my caucus colleagues and the Prime Minister as I've done since 2015."

    This is not the first time McDonald has gone against the party grain. He made headlines in October for voting with the Conservatives in opposition to the Liberal government's carbon tax policy.

    Chief Government Whip Ruby Sahota previously told reporters that she spoke with McDonald, suggesting "a clarification" may be coming about his comments, but she'd let him speak for himself on his continued role in caucus.

    "There might be some misunderstanding of what Ken is calling for, so I don't want to prejudge that," Sahota said.

    Echoing this, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon, who until a few weeks ago had Sahota's job, said McDonald "could not be more wrong about this one."

    "Mr. McDonald, I think, has signalled he's probably not running again either … there's 157 other Liberals who are running again, who are firmly behind Justin Trudeau," MacKinnon said.

    "We're enthusiastically starting a new session," MacKinnon said. "We're going to get results for Canadians … and the prime minister is the right man to be leading us through that."

    Other MPs said they had no comment and walked past inquiring reporters on Parliament Hill, while some stopped to speak about the natural tensions there can be within a caucus.

    "I've been in elected politics for 30 years, did I agree with every premier I served with, or every prime minister? Absolutely not," Labrador MP Yvonne Jones said.

    "There's always going to be differences of opinions … Am I disappointed in Ken? Yes I am because there's days, every day, that as a politician when you're representing your constituents you don't always 100 percent agree with everything, but you work harder to change the result," she said.

    Jones added that ultimately the only poll and the only opinions that count are those that take place on election day.

    "It's his decision whether he stays or goes, what I can tell you is that as a Liberal, I believe fundamentally in the values and principles of this party, this party is always bigger than one person," she said.

    This is also not the first time Liberals have gone public with their uncertainties around Trudeau's continued leadership.

    In November amid tumbling polling numbers and a surging Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, longtime Liberal Sen. Percy Downe suggested that it may be time for Trudeau to step down to make room for a new Liberal party leader before the next campaign.

    At the time, and in various public comments since, Trudeau has restated his intention and desire to lead the Liberal party into the next federal election — currently scheduled for October 2025 — despite some internal grumbling.

    Trudeau is expected to deliver public opening remarks at the Liberal caucus retreat on Thursday.

    With files from CTV News' Rachel Hanes and Kevin Gallagher 

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Russian state media claim Kanye West is visiting Moscow

    Unconfirmed reports say American rapper and producer Kanye West is visiting Moscow. If true, it would make West the first major American celebrity to visit Moscow since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

    Canada

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    • Summer hours are a perk small businesses can offer to workers to boost morale

      Business owners have found that offering summer hours – a reduced schedule on Fridays, usually between Victoria Day and Labour Day — can be a way to boost employee morale. Workers are able to deal with summer childcare gaps, return to the office refreshed and feel like their job values them, owners say.

    • The new airline rivalries: Air Canada vs. Porter, WestJet vs. Flair

      In a country traditionally dominated by two national airlines, a new set of aviation rivalries has emerged. Porter is increasingly moving in on Air Canada's home turf of Central Canada as well as cross-country routes, while WestJet seeks to counter the threat of Flair Airlines in a shift from the decades-old industry dynamic of sparring between the two biggest carriers.

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    Vancouver

    Toronto

    Calgary

    Ottawa

    Montreal

    Edmonton

    Atlantic

    Winnipeg

    Regina

    Kitchener

    Saskatoon

    Northern Ontario

    London

    Barrie

    Windsor

    Vancouver Island

    Kelowna

    Lethbridge

    Sault Ste. Marie

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News