Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has failed to calm the discontent within his caucus. According to several sources who spoke to Radio-Canada, a letter is currently circulating among elected Liberal officials asking the leader to bow out.
We believe that a new leader could restore energy to the party
confides one of the deputies who signed the letter and who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.
Radio-Canada was unable to read the document in question – a document which was, moreover, not copied, photographed or sent to Liberal elected officials by email.
On the contrary, it would be a discreet initiative, where MPs were invited in recent days to sign, in person, behind closed doors in Parliament, the famous letter.
According to sources from Radio-Canada and CBCaround twenty MPs have reportedly signed the document so far, which is described by many as a common commitment to demand the departure of Justin Trudeau. An elected official told us that he had seen signatures on two pages.
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Some Liberal MPs have been worried about the popularity of their leader Justin Trudeau for several months. (Archive photo)
Photo : The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld
Several MPs, contacted by Radio-Canada, were however not at all aware of the existence of the letter.
The ministers of the Trudeau government would also have been excluded from the initiative, undoubtedly for fear that the letter would quickly spread to the Prime Minister’s office. After the defeat in Toronto-St-Paul’s last June, the Liberal leader and his entourage increased calls and meetings to appease caucus members worried, not only about the results, but about the polls which placed them far behind the Conservatives. for months.
A source also confided to CBC that the intention was, initially, not to speak publicly about the document, the time to seek a significant number of support in the liberal ranks.
Justin Trudeau outside the country
This new initiative to call for the departure of Justin Trudeau comes as the Prime Minister finishes a several-day trip to Laos, where he participated in the ASEAN summit. The Liberal leader was therefore not present at the last caucus meeting on Wednesday in Ottawa.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the President of the Republic of the Philippines, at the ASEAN Summit in Laos.
Photo : FB/Embassy of Canada in the Philippines / PCO
On the return flight, during a stopover in Honolulu, Mr. Trudeau was not available for comment, but his Minister of International Trade came to his defense: I am a Liberal elected official and I have full confidence in Justin Trudeau as my leader
a dit Mary Ng.
I am disappointed [de cette initiative]
she added, because Canadians expect us to stay focused on our work.
It’s unclear at this point whether these new internal efforts to change leaders will have a ripple effect or whether they will eventually die down.
For almost a year, several Liberal elected officials have publicly questioned Justin Trudeau’s leadership, without creating a rebellion movement.
With information from Louis Blouin, Valérie Gamache and CBC News.
