Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held his first caucus meeting on Wednesday since rejecting calls from 20 members of the Liberal Party to resign. He appeared to allay some MPs’ concerns with a presentation on the party’s election strategy, including the rollout of new advertising.
In the lead-up to the meeting, some Liberal MPs were still pushing for a secret ballot to resolve questions about Trudeau’s leadership.
“I think we should ask the prime minister whether he supports secret voting, and if not, why not,” Ontario Liberal MP Ivan Baker told reporters.
Some asked for clarity on how Prime Minister Trudeau plans to turn around the party’s fortunes.
“What is your plan to win the next election?” Ontario Liberal MP Salma Zahid said when asked what she would like to hear at Wednesday’s meeting.
Behind closed doors, newly appointed Liberal National Campaign Director Andrew Bevan presented MPs with the party’s election preparation plan to secure re-election.
Part of the plan MPs heard during the two-hour meeting aimed to contrast the Liberals’ track record and what Prime Minister Trudeau has achieved with what is at risk of being cut by the Conservative alternative. The company is launching a new national advertising campaign.
Lawmakers were shown the ad during the meeting, CTV News confirmed.
“Given the huge amount of advertising spending between the Conservatives and the Liberals, we have to close the gap,” said Nate Erskine-Smith, an Ontario Liberal MP.
“The fundraising numbers have been pretty strong for the Liberal Party and I think it was well received today. But we also need to use that money in an effective way and Bevan has clearly articulated a plan that makes sense on that front. “I think we’ve started to do that,” he said. “This is definitely the right step forward… now it’s implementation.”
Erskine-Smith said she expects the ads to vary, with some featuring Trudeau heavily and others not.
“I think you want to run different ads on different platforms, and whatever performs best, you have to put money into that effort,” he said.
The federal Conservative Party has far outpaced other political parties in its fundraising efforts and has been running a series of digital and broadcast ad campaigns featuring Conservative leader Pierre Poièvre for some time.
“Innovative advertising campaigns leading up to and during the 2015, 2019 and 2021 elections will help the Liberal Party of Canada make more public statements about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s aggressive plan to invest in the middle class.” was an important part of our ability to successfully connect with many Canadians,” Liberal Party of Canada spokesperson Parker Rand said in an email. “And the same will be true no matter when the next election is held.”
Mr. Bevan was originally scheduled to attend caucus last week, ahead of mounting pressure from some MPs to reflect on Mr. Trudeau’s leadership.
“Building a winning campaign to re-elect Justin Trudeau and many more Liberal MPs so we can continue to build a better future for all Canadians,” Bevan said at a recent fundraiser for Liberal supporters. I pledged to cooperate with the
Quebec Liberal Minister Stephen MacKinnon said he thinks “everyone has complete confidence” in their new elected leader.
Bevan’s presentation also appeared to dampen some of the chatter surrounding Trudeau’s ouster, with MPs telling reporters on their way home from Wednesday’s meeting that leadership issues were not the main focus. .
“The focus of this conversation today was very much on what are the next steps from a party perspective… and people were able to take their feedback into account,” Erskine said. Mr. Smith said.
“What I saw today would have been better if I had written it myself. No, I got some answers today that I really liked. Now, the nature of those answers is …Of course we have to stay within our caucus,” British Columbia Liberal MP Ken Hardy said in an interview on CTV News Channel’s Power Play.
“I think our friends on the Conservative side have some things to worry about,” Mr Hardy added.
However, not all Liberal MPs left the meeting feeling that their concerns had been addressed.
“I think there are a lot of people who are still looking for answers…I’m sure there are a lot of people who are not completely satisfied,” said British Columbia Liberal MP Patrick Wyler.
“It’s important to remember that Mr. Bevan only joined the company a week and a half ago and has a lot of work to do,” Mr. Wyler said. “I think this is a start today, but I look forward to seeing a fuller plan as it unfolds.”
Trudeau’s supporters say he has proven himself to be a strong campaigner and are confident he can do it again.
“I’ve been through five leaders. This is my fifth leader. Most of the time they’re unpopular, but they still manage to win,” said Ontario Liberal MP Judy Sgro. spoke.
But pollster Nick Nanos said Wednesday that Trudeau needs more than solid ad buys and a united party caucus to overcome Canadians who are looking to the upcoming election campaign as an opportunity to vote for change. He said he would need something.
“These ads are probably the first step to easing some of the nerves of some Liberals who are anxious about the upcoming election,” Nanos said.
“But the reality is that when you have a huge lead and you’ve been losing ground for more than a year, it’s very difficult to reverse it. Justin Trudeau needs everything to go well for him. , everything has to go wrong for Pierre Poièvre and Jagmeet Singh.”
The prime minister may still have time to chart a course towards further victories. The NDP leader said today that he won’t let them or the Conservatives dictate when a Liberal minority government can form after Prime Minister Trudeau lost the support of the Bloc Quebecois this week. be defeated.
“I’m not going to leave decisions up to Pierre Poièvre or Bloc. I don’t want a Liberal government. I don’t want Justin Trudeau to be prime minister. There’s going to be an election, and when that election comes, people don’t want to make decisions that matter. You will have to make a choice,” Singh said.
