Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced his toughest challenge to his leadership Wednesday from elected Liberal MPs in a closed-door meeting, urging him to resign to avoid ruining the party’s chances in the next election. I was prompted.
Prime Minister Trudeau’s Liberal Party has held a double-digit lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls for more than a year, suggesting the party could suffer a crushing defeat in the next election, which will be held by October next year. .
Panic within the party intensified after the Liberal Party recently lost two special parliamentary elections in constituencies considered its stronghold.
The growing frustration unfolded Wednesday as most of the 153 Liberal MPs gathered in Ottawa for a scheduled caucus.
Caucus proceedings are usually secret, but Canadian news media, citing anonymous sources, said Trudeau was given a letter signed by about 20 caucus members calling for his resignation. That’s what it means.
This letter has been circulating for several days, but is kept top secret.
About 20 Liberal MPs criticized Mr. Trudeau’s leadership after the letter was read out during the three-hour, 17-minute meeting, The Canadian Press reported.
CBC News reported that Prime Minister Trudeau told a closed-door meeting that he intended to reflect on the concerns raised.
Of the party members who spoke to the media before and after the meeting, not a single one publicly challenged Mr. Trudeau, and most said they remained supportive of Mr. Trudeau’s leadership.
“The Liberal Party is strong and united,” Trudeau said simply as he trotted past a line of reporters outside the conference room.
Later, in the House of Commons, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poièvre, the prime minister’s biggest political rival, repeatedly asked Trudeau whether he would listen to those calling for his resignation or an immediate election.
“In our caucuses, people are always free to say what they think,” Trudeau said.
Immigration Minister Mark Miller, a friend of Mr. Trudeau’s since high school, said after the party meeting that he did not expect the prime minister to resign.
“This is not a dangerous situation,” Miller told reporters. “We can handle the truth,” the prime minister said.
“He’s been very clear about his intentions, and I don’t expect that to change,” he added of Trudeau.
Mr. Trudeau’s political fate and that of the Liberal caucus are intertwined because Canadians only vote for their local MPs. If voters reject Mr. Trudeau and the Liberal Party, they would likely remove the current Liberal MP from office.
Mr. Trudeau has repeatedly said he intends to lead his party into the next election. In theory, an election could be triggered at any time if the Liberal government, which does not control a parliamentary majority, is defeated by either a vote of no confidence or major legislation.
The Liberal Party has no mechanism to oust Mr. Trudeau. But if he resigns, party members will choose a successor.
Details of what was said during Wednesday’s meeting are unclear, but some analysts say it is likely to further weaken Mr. Trudeau’s position.
“Maybe they came in there and just left it alone and felt better,” said Lori Turnbull, a political scientist and professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “But I don’t see how this ‘we’re a big happy family’ situation can last for long.”
The Liberal Party has no clear successor to Mr. Trudeau, and success in Canada is not about ousting an unpopular leader. When Brian Mulroney resigned as prime minister in 1993 after his support collapsed in the polls, the Progressive Conservative Party, as it was then known, went from 156 seats to just two in a general election a few months later.
Issues such as rising housing costs and inflation are contributing to voter dissatisfaction with Mr. Trudeau, but his long tenure in office may also be playing a role.
Mr. Trudeau has been in power for nine years, but no Canadian prime minister in 100 years has led a political party to four consecutive electoral victories.
Professor Turnbull said Mr Trudeau ultimately needs to find some way to appease the opposition if he wants to continue leading the party.
“Even if it’s just 24 people,” she said, referring to the number of Liberal Party members who reportedly signed a letter calling for his resignation. “That’s 24 people, which is enough to cause a leak. And that leak will continue.”