TORONTO (AP) — Some lawmakers in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party asked the leader Wednesday not to run for a fourth term, presenting him with one of the biggest tests of his political career.
Three Liberal MPs said they were among more than two dozen party lawmakers who signed a letter asking Trudeau to resign before the next election. There are 153 Liberals in the Canadian House of Commons.
“He needs to start listening, listen to the people,” said Ken McDonald, a Liberal MP from Newfoundland who says he signed the letter, which has not been made public.
McDonald, who is no longer running, said some of his colleagues who plan to run are nervous about poor election numbers. Wayne Long of New Brunswick and Sean Casey of Prince Edward Island also publicly stated that they had signed the letter.
Trudeau, who has previously said he plans to run again, met with Liberal lawmakers for three hours on Wednesday.
“The Liberal Party is strong and united,” a smiling Trudeau told reporters after the meeting. Liberals later loudly applauded Trudeau as he addressed the House of Commons. Trudeau thanked them.
His ministers have publicly supported him.
‘There is what you might call a palace drama going on at the moment. And that takes us away from the number one job, which is targeting Canadians,” said Labor Minister Randy Boissonnault, a member of the Liberal Party.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller, also a Liberal and a close friend of Trudeau, said Tuesday that anonymous whining about the prime minister was “nonsense,” but he softened his language Wednesday as he left the meeting early.
“This is something that I think has been simmering for a while and it’s important that people get it out,” Miller said. “What happened there, while it remains confidential, is really about MPs telling the Prime Minister the truth, whether he likes to hear it or not.”
Charles Sousa, MP for a Toronto suburb, said Trudeau is thinking.
“Trudeau has made it very clear that he believes he is the right choice, but that he appreciates everything that is being said,” Sousa said. “I respect his decision, whatever it may be.”
Ontario Liberal MP John McKay called the meeting a candid conversation and said it was up to Trudeau whether he would remain leader.
Trudeau’s Liberals recently suffered setbacks in a special election in two districts in Toronto and Montreal that the party has held for years, raising questions about Trudeau’s leadership.
The federal election could take place anytime between this fall and October 2025. The Liberals must count on the support of at least one major party in parliament, as they do not have the majority of seats.
The opposition leader of the Bloc Québécois has said his party will work with the Conservatives and the NDP’s New Democratic Party to topple the Liberals and force an election if the government does not increase pensions for seniors.
Tall and slim, Trudeau channeled his father’s star power when he reaffirmed the country’s liberal identity in 2015 after nearly a decade of conservative rule. But the son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is now in trouble. Canadians are frustrated with the cost of living due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the latest Nanos poll, Liberals trail opposition Conservatives by 38% to 25%. The survey of 1,037 respondents has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
“The Liberals’ electoral prospects with Justin Trudeau at the helm look bleak,” said Daniel Béland, a politics professor at McGill University in Montreal.
Trudeau’s legacy includes opening wide the doors to immigration. He also legalized cannabis and introduced a carbon tax aimed at combating climate change.
“He saved the Liberals in 2015, but over time he has become a huge burden on them,” Béland said.
