The Liberal Party has appointed Andrew Bevan as its new national campaign director for the upcoming federal election. The announcement comes as the party continues to face polling delays and leader Justin Trudeau faces fresh pressure to resign.
Marjorie Michel is the party’s deputy campaign manager.
“Andrew Bevan has been a leader in advancing progressive priorities for more than 30 years. With extensive experience working at the highest levels of state and federal politics, he has been a leader in Marjorie Michel and the Liberal Party election. With the support of our entire team, we are ready to build a winning campaign that focuses on the priorities of Canadians and fights to build a better future for everyone,” Trudeau said in a statement Sunday. said.
Mr Bevan most recently served as Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s chief of staff. He also served as chief of staff and chief of staff to former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne from 2013 to 2018, and served as Wynne’s senior advisor through two provincial elections.
In early September, former campaign manager Jeremy Broadhurst announced he was resigning for personal reasons. He officially resigned on September 30th.
The timing of Mr Broadhurst’s resignation left some Liberal MPs concerned about the direction of the party. The possibility of an early election increased after the NDP ended its supply and confidence agreement with the Liberal Party in September.
Some Liberal Party MPs launch new push to oust Prime Minister Trudeau
Bevan’s appointment announcement comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces renewed pressure from within his Liberal Party caucus to resign.
As first reported by the Toronto Star on Friday and later confirmed by CTV News, a group of backward-looking MPs primarily from Atlantic Canada and southwestern Ontario have called on the prime minister to consider the future of the Liberal Party. Discussions are currently underway to officially announce the book. in deciding whether to remain at the helm.
Discussion between Liberal MPs escalated after what one MP called a “difficult” caucus meeting on Wednesday, which the prime minister and his chief of staff did not attend as they were out of the country.
After asking members of the Prime Minister’s Office to leave, the group of MPs dispersed after the caucus meeting, with three of them telling CTV News it was a “secret” caucus meeting. During this meeting, talk developed about something more formal, but other MPs in the group insisted on going directly to the Prime Minister.
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.
The prime minister and his staff learned of these reports on their way back from the ASEAN summit.
Liberals lead Conservatives by more than 20 points
With the possibility of an early election looming and the Liberal Party trailing in the polls, the Liberal Party’s new campaign chief will face a difficult task.
“Look at these polls and look at the work that lies ahead,” CTV News political analyst Scott Reed said in an interview with CTV News Channel. “It’s going to take a magician to pull the Liberal rabbit out of this particular political hat.”
According to New poll from Abacus Data On Sunday, the Conservatives held a 21-point lead over the Liberals, a trend that has continued for months.
The poll also shows that negative impressions of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poièvre have increased over the past month, with more Canadians having an unfavorable opinion of him compared to Prime Minister Trudeau or NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. He said he has a positive view of the situation.
With files from CTV’s Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos.
