1 week Ago By [email protected] (Althia Raj)
NANAIMO, B.C. — It’s become too obvious to hide.
Liberal MPs publicly acknowledged Monday that some of their constituents want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to go. Using words like “too preachy” and “tired,” a handful of MPs told the Star there is a clear appetite for change, and some worry the prime minister’s unpopularity will affect their own bids for re-election. There’s “a sentiment of exasperation, I would say, in many people,” offered Quebec MP Alexandra Mendès.
“A lot of the comments bordered on, ‘We are sick and tired of being preached to.’” But while Mendès said Trudeau’s presence is “not helpful,” she and other Liberal MPs who are gathering for a caucus retreat this week in Nanaimo stopped short of calling for the prime minister to step down as their leader. “I personally don’t think he should go, but my constituents definitely do, and that is the message they’ve been asking me to convey,” she said.
“Some out there in the community certainly believe it’s time for him to move on,” said Nova Scotia MP Kody Blois. “There’s others that actually think he needs to stay on the job.” “I still believe that we have the best plan to present to Canadians,” offered Ontario MP Francis Drouin, “but I think people have lost an emotional connection to the prime minister.
” The calls for Trudeau to go are unlikely to lead to a full blowout during the Liberals’ three days of meetings, and the prime minister he plans to stick around for another term. But there are now more MPs publicly willing to say what everyone has been hearing for the past year, and it may lead to more fireworks and tougher conversations behind closed doors this week. Behind the scenes, there are also questions being asked about a surprise guest of honour — former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who, as , has been tapped to advise Trudeau and the Liberal party on economic matters.
He is expected to brief MPs Tuesday morning. Carney’s presence ruffled a few cabinet ministers last week, who were perplexed as to why Trudeau had asked a likely leadership rival to show up. Had the prime minister called in the big gun because he had little faith in his own front bench? Was he designating Carney his dauphin? Was this the beginning of the jockeying over leadership? Why was Carney going to Nanaimo? These were questions asked over and over again.
Attuned to their anxiety, Carney called a handful of ministers over the weekend, hoping to smooth some feathers. Trudeau’s team hopes Carney’s presence demonstrates to Canadians that the prime minister can still attract big names to the Liberal fold — that while the news might be about staff , impressive Canadians like Carney are willing to get engaged with the Grits and lend the party their brand’s cache. For his part, the Carney calculations appear to be focused on dispelling any notion that he backed away from the party after — and yes, although no one will publicly say it, it’s also about leadership positioning.
A Liberal party statement announcing his new role as chair of the Liberal “leader’s task force on economic growth” billed Carney as a “globally acclaimed Canadian economist,” “a public policy leader,” a “sustainability advocate, and author.” It said Carney would help develop and shape ideas for the next phase of Canada’s strategy for near- and longer-term economic growth and productivity and help the party create a “pragmatic, focused, and high-impact vision for Canada’s economic success.” The Liberals plan to send Carney on a cross-country tour to hear from Canadians in different sectors, and then have him report back to its election platform committee.
It’s easy to see why those around the cabinet table who want Trudeau’s job might be miffed by this challenger’s exposure. Reaction from MPs to Carney’s presence in Nanaimo was mixed. “Whatever.
I mean, we’ll see what he does. I don’t think he’s going to be the messiah,” said Drouin. Several fear Carney is too much of a technocrat — that he resembles former leader Michael Ignatieff — and that they would flounder under his leadership.
Others looked forward to Tuesday’s presentation and his ability to respond to media questions afterward. “There’s been a lot of talk about Mark Carney in one way or another, so it’s great that he’s making time to come out and share his thoughts with us,” said Ontario MP Ruby Sahota. The only parliamentarian who seemed agitated by Carney’s presence was Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer, who flew all the way out to Nanaimo to tell reporters that “it doesn’t matter what happens at this retreat.
” “It doesn’t matter who is leading the Liberal party ...
It doesn’t matter what kind of paint they slap on the Liberal brand,” Scheer insisted. Neither Carney nor any other Liberal cabinet minister would change the direction the country is headed in now, he claimed. If Scheer hoped to convince reporters that his party isn’t worried about a Liberal leadership change, he accomplished the opposite.
It’s no secret that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh would rather run against Trudeau than against another Liberal who could represent change from a tired brand . Change is what Liberal MPs have on their minds, whether that’s changing the prime minister or changing communication strategy — something they’ve long griped about. (It’s also far easier to champion that than calling for the leader to go, and plunging the party into disunity.
) “Right now,” said Blois, change “would be the prospect of a Pierre Poilievre prime ministership, and there’s a lot of my constituents that are concerned about the direction he would take the country.” Blois, Drouin and others want the party to focus Canadians’ attention on Poilievre’s record. There is a lot of material to mine from his disparaging comments about Indigenous Peoples to his work on the so-called Fair Elections Act.
And on that front, the team around Trudeau is listening. Their major challenge, however, is financing — how much money to spend to get bang for their buck when their opponents have so much more than they do. So far this year, the Conservatives have raised $20.
53 million, nearly three times more than the Liberals, with $6.87 million, from nearly twice as many donors. Two years ago, the Grits shied away from spending money.
Now, with an election on the horizon, their calculations may be shifting..
