Liberal MPs say time’s up for Trudeau to face Canadians

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OTTAWA — With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returning from vacation on Friday, some Liberal MPs say the time has arrived for him to face Canadians and say whether or not he intends to resign.

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Trudeau has spent the past two weeks since former finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s stunning resignation largely out of the public eye, at first staying behind closed doors and then setting off on his annual Christmas vacation, this time to B.C. Trudeau had said he would use the time to reflect on his future.

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In speaking to fellow Liberals since Parliament broke for its holiday recess, Helena Jaczek, an Ontario MP who has called for Trudeau to quit, said what has become noticeable now is his silence.

“We want to keep our party together, and at this point, we’re not hearing from the prime minister,” she told National Post in an interview.

“I think everyone understood the need for some reflection, but it is what, more than two weeks now since Chrystia Freeland resigned. And so what I’m hearing that’s a little different is, ‘well the silence is deafening. Where’s the leadership in a time of crisis?’”

Another Ontario Liberal MP, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the calls for to Trudeau to resign are coming from every corner, whether it’s from residents who are not usually close followers of politics or “dyed-in-the-wool Liberals.”

That MP said time is running out before others in caucus get prepared to add their name to the roster of roughly 20 Liberal MPs who have gone public with their desire for Trudeau to resign, adding the fact that the prime minister has yet to make a decision “is almost as bad” as the blow Freeland dealt by resigning on the day she was set to deliver the government’s fiscal update, announcing her move publicly in a scathing letter.

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“This isn’t just about Liberal political intrigue,” the MP said. “Canadians are looking at a situation where they genuinely have a concern about who will be leading the country and what the plan is going forward on confronting the Trump threat.”

Regional caucus chairs were set to meet on Friday to discuss the requests to hold a national caucus meeting.

Of the 51 out of 75 Ontario Liberal MPs who held a meeting after the House of Commons broke for the holidays, most said that Trudeau should resign — a message that Jaczek says has been communicated to the Prime Minister’s Office, citing information from the group’s chair. Ontario Liberal caucus chair, Michael Coteau, has yet to respond to a request for comment from National Post.

“As has already been widely reported, there was a consensus. Obviously, that’s not unanimity, but there was a consensus that the prime minister should resign,” said Jaczek.

A Quebec Liberal MP confirmed the sentiment that Trudeau must go is also shared by members within its provincial caucus, although its chair, Stéphane Lauzon, clarified in a statement posted to X that no letter has been signed or circulated by its caucus since they last met on Dec. 11, which was several days before Freeland resigned. 

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New Brunswick MP Wayne Long shared the letter sent by the Atlantic Liberal caucus chair, Nova Scotia MP Kody Blois, asking that Trudeau step aside, telling National Post that caucus members feel “disillusioned” that the prime minister has not yet responded to the growing calls.

“People are beyond mad now,” Long says, “I think they’re just really sad that the prime minister and in particular (the Prime Minister’s Office) and those around him have allowed this to happen.”

“Good leadership, of course, should have a lot of reflection, but good leadership also acknowledges when his caucus and, more importantly, Canadians, want to hear from him.”

Long, who was one of the earliest to publicly call for Trudeau to quit following the party’s surprise byelection loss in the former Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul’s last June, said he expects Trudeau ultimately will resign.

“There is no other option,” he said. “It’s time to get out of fantasyland and get back to reality and reality clearly states that the prime minister’s time is up.”

Other Liberal MPs believe he will do the same, including B.C. MP Ken Hardie who said he believes Trudeau will do so “for the good of the country,” as the Liberals enter an election year where they are set to face Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has been riding high in public opinion polls since summer 2023, while Trudeau has been unsuccessful in his attempts to gain back any favour among Canadians.

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Hardie pointed to a retreat the Liberal caucus had that year in London, Ont. where MPs “were assured at that time that there was a path forward.”

“The leader and the Prime Minister’s Office, they’re pretty smart people so (we) said, ‘OK, fine, let’s see what that path forward is.’ Well, so far we haven’t seen it.”

While Hardie said he believes Trudeau deserves to take the time he needs to reflect on his next steps, “the sooner the better” it would be to present a plan to Canadians.

Taleeb Noormohamed, who chairs the B.C. caucus, confirmed it met on Dec.23 and “had a very healthy discussion about the future of the party,” which remain confidential, but added those views have been communicated to the Prime Minister’s Office.

On Thursday, Toronto MP and former cabinet minister Marco Mendicino added his name to the list of MPs who are not seeking re-election. Others include Nova Scotia MP Sean Fraser, who previously served as housing minister.

In a statement shared on the platform X, Mendicino did not address Trudeau’s leadership, but noted how he disagreed with the Liberal government’s foreign policy direction, particularly when it comes to its relationship to Israel, which he said had “deteriorated.”

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“In political parties, there must be room for different views.”

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