Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rebuffed calls for his resignation last week, but that doesn’t mean disgruntled Liberal MPs who called on him to resign are giving up the fight.
Some MPs who said the prime minister should resign by today are now trying to force a vote in a secret parliamentary group on Trudeau’s future.
Some MPs have said that if Trudeau is not willing to resign in the face of the caucus revolt, they would like to find other ways to force him to resign.
They argue that the question on the ballot should be simple: “Should Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lead us to the next election?”
“Given the fact that there are a significant number of MPs, a significant number of Liberals and Canadians who think someone else should lead the Liberal Party in the next election, the way forward is to hold a secret ballot. I think that’s what’s best for the party and the country,” Liberal MP Ivan Baker said.
Mr Baker said the vote should be secret so MPs could vote “without fear of repercussions or consequences”.
“The Prime Minister and his team have said on numerous occasions that they have the support of the majority of their caucus. To me, that suggests that the Prime Minister should have no concerns about putting it to a secret ballot. Baker said. .
Liberal MP Samir Zuberi agreed with Baker’s call for a secret ballot.
“If there is a secret ballot, this will be over. We need to make some final decision on this. I think that will help us as a party get through this,” he said.
In an interview with CBC rosemary burton liveLiberal MP Wayne Long also supported an intra-party vote on Trudeau’s future.
“We think a secret ballot will absolutely, once and for all, settle this issue and put it to rest,” he said.
“If everyone thinks they have massive support in the caucuses, let’s figure it out. Let’s go to a secret ballot and see what happens.”
Mr. Long argued that Prime Minister Trudeau should resign, warning that if he did, his party could face an ugly election outcome in the next vote.
“Show me the polls and show me anything that says the prime minister can win this election,” Mr Long said.
“If we don’t step in and make some solid changes here, we’re going to allow this to happen.” [Conservative Leader] Pierre Poièvre will rule for the next 1, 2 and 3 terms. That would be disastrous for our country. ”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership is in jeopardy amid an internal revolt by 24 MPs who want him to decide whether to stay in office or resign by Monday morning.
It’s not clear whether these Liberal MPs will even be able to cast a caucus vote.
Unlike the Conservative group, the Liberal group did not adopt the provisions of the 2015 Reform Act. This is a law aimed at making party leaders more accountable to caucus members.
Under the law, a vote would be triggered when 20 percent of caucus members sign a petition calling for leadership review. If a majority of MPs vote against the leader, the MP will be forced to resign. The measure was used to oust former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole in 2022.
However, the reform law stipulates that each party must vote on whether to adopt the measure after a general election. The Liberal Party never did that.
The Liberal Party has a “leadership support” voting option built into its party constitution.
This mechanism allows registered Liberal members to vote at the party’s national conference whether to continue supporting the current leadership, but the vote will only take place if the party loses the general election.
Baker said the reform law should not prevent lawmakers from voting, adding that it is a democratic act.
Prime Minister Trudeau said nothing publicly Monday about the caucus pressure.
That’s probably because Trudeau has repeatedly said he’s not going anywhere, even after 24 of his own MPs signed a letter calling for his resignation.
Prime Minister Trudeau was also adamant that he would not quit the top job after losing two Liberal strongholds in recent by-elections.
In an interview with Ontario news podcast Inside the Village over the weekend, Trudeau said he was “determined to lead this party into the next election” and was “really excited about this fight.” said.
Prime Minister Trudeau said he won in 2015 and could win again in the next election, even though some polls suggested it would be a tough fight.
“We accomplished great things by trusting Canadians and coming up with a better, more responsible plan,” Trudeau said of 2015.
“I don’t think it’s a very wise thing to do to predict the outcome of an election already.”
But Trudeau’s poll numbers are significantly lower than they were nine years ago.
The Liberals are down about 20 percentage points compared to the Conservatives, according to CBC’s poll tracker.
A poll released on Sunday by Abacus Data pollster David Collett showed the Conservatives with an even bigger lead.
“The government’s approval rating is at an all-time low,” Collette said in an interview.
“And the prime minister himself has never had his negative opinion this high. Roughly 60 per cent of Canadians have a negative opinion, but many have a positive opinion. is only 23%.”
