Former Trudeau government minister Catherine McKenna believes the Liberals need a new leader and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must step down.
In an English-language statement sent to the media, CBC obtained a copy, Ms. McKenna writes that The Liberal Party is not a one-person party
but rather the sum values that drive it and [de son désir] to improve the lives of Canadians
.
McKenna declined interview requests Friday. However, she did refer to her comments in a post on the social network X, in which she wrote that she learned that sometimes you have to say the uncomfortable things
.
I understand that some people are probably not happy
she adds. That’s life.
The one who was at the head of the Ministry of the Environment from 2015 to 2019 thus becomes the first prominent Liberal to discuss the departure of Mr. Trudeau after the surprise defeat of the Liberal Party during the by-election of Toronto–St. Paul’s Start of the week.
If we knew that this setback had shaken the confidence of liberal activists and elected officials, the ranks had so far seemed to hold. Publicly, at least, since behind closed microphones, numerous sources have already indicated to Radio-Canada that the bond of trust with their leader was at a breaking point.
The Prime Minister leaves a legacy of which he can be proud, but it is time for new ideas, new energy and a new leader. Too much is at stake in this upcoming election, particularly when it comes to the economy and the environment.
It is that Toronto–St. Paul’s was considered a Liberal stronghold, the party having had its base there since 1993 and its last candidate having won by almost 13,000 votes in advance in 2021. Conservative Don Stewart finally snatched it from the hands of the Liberals by a few hundreds of votes on Monday.
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The by-election in Toronto–St. Paul’s was seen by many as a referendum on Justin Trudeau’s leadership.
Photo : (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
After her time at the Environment, Ms. McKenna took the reins of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Communities, before leaving federal politics in 2021. She has since worked as President and CEO of the firm Climate and Nature Solutions.
Criticisms that accumulate
This is not the first time that Catherine McKenna has openly criticized the leadership of her former political party. Last March, the one who piloted the deployment of the carbon tax, which has since become the favorite political weapon of conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, criticized the liberal authorities for not having “sold well” the idea of a price on carbon. pollution to Canadians.
Conservative leader attacks flagship measure. It must be defended
she said in an interview with Radio-Canada.
Her criticisms were then channeled towards Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, whom she accused of not sufficiently promoting the economic benefits of the carbon tax for Canadian households.
I think the problem at the moment in the Department of Finance is that there seems to be this perspective that a policy on climate change is not a positive economic policy. I don’t understand this, and it worries me
she said.
With information from Aaron Wherry, CBC, and Laurence Martin
