A group of Liberal MPs have demanded that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decide his future as party leader by Monday and that what happens after is “up to each individual MP,” according to one backbencher who’s part of the group.
In an interview airing Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live, New Brunswick MP Wayne Long said that “every MP is in their own kind of space” and that when it comes to next steps after the deadline, “a lot of it is up to each individual MP.”
Responding to criticisms that the recent push to oust Trudeau was disorganized, Long said that “he’s not sure what people expect us to do.”
“We went in, expressed our opinions to the prime minister — strong opinions,” Long told host Rosemary Barton. “We asked him to step down.”
Trudeau was confronted by disaffected caucus members at a party meeting on Wednesday. He told them he’d take time to reflect on their criticisms of his leadership and consider his options, sources told CBC News.
Less than 24 hours later, the prime minister said he had his answer: He’d stay on as leader.
Long said the expectation coming out of the meeting was that Trudeau would “take pause” and “get away from his inner circle” to consider the MPs’ demands.
The quick defiance from Trudeau was “disrespectful,” he said.
“I think that it’s symptomatic of what’s been going on,” Long said. “And I think that as backbenchers, a lot of us just really haven’t felt part of the team.”
Wayne Long, the Liberal MP for Saint John-Rothesay, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau disrespected a group of dissenting members in his caucus by saying he would stay in the race despite call to step down. In an interview with Rosemary Barton Live, Long says it’s indicative of how the concerns of backbench MPs have gone unheard.
Long suggested a secret ballot vote in caucus can settle the question of Trudeau’s leadership. He also said he thinks there are “upwards of 40” MPs who want the prime minister to step down.
Other MPs who were part of the push to oust Trudeau, such as Newfoundland and Labrador MP Ken McDonald, have previously said that going against the government on a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons isn’t out of the question.
Long said that he wouldn’t consider sitting as an independent MP if Trudeau continues to stay on as party leader.
“I want to still be part of something that I think is very special,” he said.
Former New Brunswick premier weighs in
In another interview airing Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna said he thought Trudeau would have decided to step aside after the tense caucus meeting.
“Incumbents are in trouble everywhere,” he said, citing provincial elections in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. He also referred to general voter fatigue after a long time in power.
“[Trudeau] has got to realize that 10 years is a long, long time in today’s world of scrutiny in social media,” McKenna said. “So I thought for all of those reasons, he would leave.”
He added, “I guess in my heart of hearts, I still think that after the U.S. election, he’ll have his moment of contemplation and might well leave.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Rosemary Barton that the “vast majority” of the Liberal caucus and entirety of Trudeau’s cabinet is rallying behind the prime minister into the next election.
Miller also said he thinks the discussion about Trudeau’s leadership is “a wild distraction” when MPs should be focused on the “toxic narrative coming out of Pierre Poilievre’s mouth,” referring to the federal Conservative leader.
“And I stand firm by that,” he said, adding that his view is “not a mark of disrespect toward my colleagues…. I know what they go through, I know some of the frustrations that they may feel.
“We’re all fighters,” Miller said. “But at the end of the day, we need to rally together and focus on the real threat.”