The cabinet minister who serves as national campaign co-chair for the federal Liberal Party told MPs at the party’s recent caucus meeting that they need to “change their attitude” if they want to turn around dismal poll numbers, sources told CBC News.
More than a half-dozen Liberal MPs have asked CBC News for confidentiality in order to provide a behind-the-scenes look at a recent two-day caucus meeting in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Three of them cited Tourism Minister Soraya MartÃnez Ferrada, co-chair of the national campaign, as saying in a presentation that if they “want to change something” in the political landscape, they should first change their “attitudes”.
Two of the three MPs said the comments were unpopular with their peers, with one saying the comments were particularly galling because MPs are the ones bearing the brunt of constituent discontent with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government.
“It’s really out of place to come there and reprimand a council member,” the council member said.
Meanwhile, a third council member said he wasn’t troubled by Ferrada’s message.
“Recognizing that your attitude plays a role [public] The “perception” was a valid point, the lawmaker said.
Quebec Liberal MP Alexandra Mendes recently told multiple media outlets that voters in her constituency want Trudeau to step down, but did not express her view at the meeting, according to sources.
Before the rally began, Mendes told Radio-Canada he would be relaying the views of his constituents to his caucus colleagues in Nanaimo.
“It’s a very common thing … like, ‘I’m tired of his face,'” she said. Power and politics.
Mendes confirmed to CBC News that he has never raised the issue privately.
“During the Quebec caucus, we only had one hour because other matters were more urgent,” she said in an email.
Mendes said he had to leave the caucus before Wednesday morning’s question-and-answer session.
All of the MPs who spoke to CBC News said Trudeau’s office and representatives from the party’s leadership in Nanaimo wanted to assure the caucus that there’s a plan in place when MPs return to Parliament this week, and they said the overall mood of the meeting was positive.
The lawmakers said the plan presented consists of three parts: strategy, policy and communications for the House.
Lawmakers said the communications portion of the plan was presented to caucus by Max Valiquette, the executive director of communications who Trudeau hired in November 2023, months after polls began showing the Liberals falling far behind the Conservatives.
The three lawmakers said the plan sends a strong message to challenge Conservative Leader Pierre Poirierbre, but they have not been told when the party will start releasing the new ads.
On the second day of the retreat, one lawmaker said, “There were almost no questions about what to do or what should be changed.”
The lawmaker also said that during the retreat, Trudeau and his team were aware of the public’s negative perception of the government.
Another said Valiquette told MPs during his speech that Canadians are feeling more positive about government policies, but it was unclear where the data to back up that claim came from.
