Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won’t say if he’ll convene a meeting of the liberal party’s national caucus to discuss the fallout from the party’s historic byelection loss last week in the traditional liberal stronghold of Toronto.
Some liberals have privately demanded a meeting while others want Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet.
Trudeau told reporters in Montreal Wednesday morning that he met with his caucus executive on Tuesday and has had direct and frank conversations with some MPs.
Trudeau said, “Let’s be very clear, last week’s byelection loss, not to sugar coat it, was challenging. It’s something we need to take seriously and we’ve been engaged in lots of important conversations. I’ve had lots of calls with different members of caucus from across the country, not just in the GTA to talk about how we make sure we’re continuing our work, connecting with Canadians to make sure we’re continuing to deliver for people.”
MPs in our area echoed messages of support for the prime minister. Burlington liberal MP Karina Gould said, “I think he is the right leader for us, he’s won three elections, we’ve formed government three times.” And, “The prime minister has lead us competently through the NAFTA negotiations, through the steel and aluminum tarrifs, through the covid pandemic, and now as we are fighting global inflation…”
Hamilton liberal MP Lisa Hepfner said, “I fully support my prime minister.”
And Milton liberal MP Adam Van Koeverden said, “My job throughout the summer is to stay connected with my community. Our last meeting with the prime minister in caucus and the last Wednesday of the session was really productive. I know what my job is throughout the summer and it’s to stay connected with Milton so that I can bring all of that insight and that perspective back with me to Ottawa when I go in September.”
The Tories say their win in Toronto-St. Paul’s proves Canadians are tired of Trudeau and want an election now.
The liberals have another byelection test coming up sometime before Sept. 17, in the central Montreal riding of LaSalle-emard-Verdun, a riding that the party previously held.