Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his MPs he would reflect on what they had to say in a three-hour caucus meeting where some Liberals confronted him about his leadership.
Trudeau was smiling when he left the meeting on Wednesday afternoon, and as he walked briskly past a hoard of waiting reporters on Parliament Hill he said only that the Liberal party is “strong and united.”
While Liberal MPs were tight-lipped about what happened behind closed doors, most agreed with the prime minister that they were indeed united — though notably not all would say they were united behind Trudeau.
“It’s the decision of the leader of the party as to whether he stays on as leader,” said Ontario Liberal MP Yvan Baker.
“I think our party is united on a path forward to make sure we’re addressing the needs of Canadians, and stopping Pierre Poilievre.”
More than 50 people spoke at the meeting, said B.C. MP Ken Hardie. He described the conversation as very respectful, and said that caucus must also reflect on what it has heard.
Trudeau made it clear that he feels he’s the right person to lead the Liberals into the next election against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Ontario Liberal MP Charles Souza said after the meeting.
“Justin Trudeau is reflecting and he’s standing strong, and we’re standing strong as well, as a Liberal party,” Souza told reporters.
“We as a party recognize that the real threat here is Pierre Poilievre, and that’s what we’re fighting for.”
Ontario Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith said the caucus was scheduled to hear details of the plan for the next election from their newly appointed national campaign director Andrew Bevan, but the conversation about Trudeau’s leadership pushed Bevan off the agenda.
“We gotta stop the palace intrigue, and we gotta focus on what’s most important,” said Erskine-Smith, who said he told his colleagues the same in the meeting.
“My colleagues need to turn the knives outwards and not inwards, and we need to focus on the most important thing, which is getting things done here in Parliament and taking the fight to Pierre Poilievre.”
Rumours have circulated for weeks that an undisclosed number of Liberal MPs have signed on to an effort to oust the prime minister in the hopes of improving the party’s chances in the next election.
Trudeau has so far showed no signs that he plans to step down from the top job, and represented the government in question period with the boisterous support of Liberal MPs in the House Wednesday.
MPs have no way to force the prime minister to leave his post, the decision about whether to stay on or step aside is entirely up to him.
Newfoundland MP Ken McDonald, who has already said he does not plan to run in the next election, said some of his colleagues who do plan to put their name on the ballot are nervous because of poor polling numbers.
He said he signed on to a letter that was presented to Trudeau at the meeting. MPs have been careful not to reveal what exactly the letter said.
McDonald said Trudeau needs to “start listening, listening to the people.”
He publicly called for the party to hold a leadership review back in January, but later walked those comments back.
Charlottetown MP Sean Casey also signed the letter. After the meeting, he would not discuss what happened except to say, with a deadpan expression, that it was “great.”
Before the meeting, Casey had said that he wished there was a mechanism to have a blind ballot so MPs could signal their confidence, or lack of confidence, in Trudeau’s leadership anonymously.
New Brunswick MP Wayne Long, who has also said he signed the letter, did not take questions after the meeting.
Trudeau’s personal poll numbers plummeted more than a year ago, and the Liberals have consistently trailed the Conservatives in national polls for a year.
Successive byelection losses over the summer in Toronto and Montreal have compounded concerns about his ability to lead the party into the next election.
