Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada faced the stiffest challenge to his leadership from fellow elected Liberal Party members on Oct 23 during a closed-door meeting where he was urged to resign to avoid torpedoing the party’s chances in the next election.
For more than a year, the Liberals under Mr Trudeau have trailed the Conservative Party by double digits in polls, suggesting that the Liberal Party could face a crushing defeat in the next election, which must be held by next October.
Panic within the party intensified after the Liberals recently lost two special parliamentary elections in districts that had been considered their strongholds.
The growing dissatisfaction played out on Oct 23, when most of the 153 Liberal members of Parliament gathered in Ottawa for a scheduled caucus meeting.
While caucus proceedings are typically secret, Mr Trudeau, according to Canadian news media citing unnamed sources, was presented with a letter signed by about two dozen caucus members calling on him to step down.
The letter has been circulating for several days, but has been a closely held secret.
About 20 Liberal members criticised Mr Trudeau’s leadership after the letter was read aloud during the meeting, which lasted 3 hours and 17 minutes, according to Canadian news outlets.
CBC News reported that Mr Trudeau told the closed meeting that he would reflect on the concerns raised.
None of the party members who spoke to the news media before or after the meeting would openly challenge Mr Trudeau, and most said that they still supported his leadership.
Mr Trudeau, walking quickly past a line of journalists outside the meeting room, said simply: “The Liberal Party is strong and united.”
Mr Marc Miller, the immigration minister and a friend of Mr Trudeau since high school, said after the party meeting that he did not expect the prime minister to quit.
While the specifics of what was said during the Oct 23 meeting are unclear, some analysts say it is likely to further weaken Mr Trudeau’s standing.
“Maybe they walked in there and just let it rip and they feel better,” said Ms Lori Turnbull, a political scientist and professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “But I just don’t see how this ‘we’re one big happy family’ is going to last for any period of time.” NYT