Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face increasing pressure from his caucus this week to resign from the Liberal leadership.
A group of backbench MPs, primarily from Atlantic Canada and southwestern Ontario, formally announces a call for the prime minister to consider the future of the Liberal Party when deciding whether to remain leader. We are discussing the direction.
For months, MPs have been lamenting behind closed doors and, of course, even to reporters, that the prime minister resigned in the belief he would stay in office, but that all changed during this Wednesday’s caucus meeting.
Both the prime minister and his top staff missed the regular weekly meeting, which was unusual. And as the discussion turned to the challenges facing the party, including the latest by-election results in Montreal and Toronto and continued polling, things became — as one MP told CTV News — “difficult. “I have mastered it.”
“Secret” caucus meeting
After asking members of the Prime Minister’s Office to leave, a group of MPs dispersed after the caucus, with three of them telling CTV News it was like a “secret” caucus. Other MPs in the group insisted they wanted to speak directly to the prime minister, but the meeting featured a more formal discussion. That’s not happening.
CTV News spoke to 24 Liberal MPs on Friday, and about half of them said they were aware of the so-called letter being circulated, but did not name themselves. Six of the members said they had heard that “about 30 people have signed the petition” but had not seen the signatures themselves. Three MPs told us they could only speak for themselves, but supported a review of the Prime Minister’s efforts to lead the party into the next election, and another three said they could only speak for themselves, while another three MPs said they could only speak for themselves, but said they supported a review of the Prime Minister’s efforts to lead the party into the next election said it was “news” to them.
Each lawmaker requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation for their comments. A number of people told CTV News that the Prime Minister’s Office has recently taken a tougher stance against MPs leaking information to the press.
The news that he has formally asked the Prime Minister to resign is… first reported by Toronto Star.
prime minister of laos
The Prime Minister has been in Laos for most of this week attending the ASEAN Summit. His plane landed in Honolulu on Friday night to refuel.
The Prime Minister and his staff learned of these reports upon landing. About 20 minutes later, Trade Minister Mary Ng spoke to reporters accompanying the Prime Minister.
“I’m disappointed,” she said. “Because Canadians expect us to do this work with a focus on Canadians.”
Mr Ng claimed that the prime minister had support.
“I have full confidence in Justin Trudeau as my leader.”
With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha, Brennan MacDonald and Rachel Aiello.
