Close X
Saturday, November 2, 2024
ADVT 
National

Most Liberal MPs support Trudeau as leader: Freeland

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Oct, 2024 12:50 PM
  • Most Liberal MPs support Trudeau as leader: Freeland

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she is "absolutely confident" the majority of Liberal MPs still support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader.

Her comments at a press conference in Winnipeg Friday came ahead of what promises to be a tense meeting of the Liberal caucus in Ottawa next week as a growing number of MPs try to convince Trudeau to step down.

Several media reports have uncovered efforts by some Liberal MPs to confront the prime minister at the next caucus meeting on Oct. 23, following more than a year of dismal polling and the growing fear their party will be decimated in the next election.

There is no mechanism for caucus to force the prime minister to step down as leader, and he has so far not wavered in his plans to stay on.

"I take the perspective and the ideas and the work and the contribution of each caucus member extremely seriously," Freeland said at a press conference in Winnipeg Friday, where she was announcing the signing of a school food program deal with Manitoba. 

"In any caucus, there is going to be a wide range of views. I am absolutely confident that the vast majority of members of our caucus support the prime minister."

Details about the exact strategy and breadth of the attempt to push Trudeau to resign remains unclear, though some MPs who have spoken to The Canadian Press on background say the number of MPs involved is significant.

Freeland expressed her own full support for Trudeau, and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said at a separate press conference Friday that he can count on her loyalty as well. 

Joly encouraged MPs to talk to the prime minister himself at the caucus meeting next Wednesday.

"He will be the one deciding," she said. 

A fall election has looked increasingly more likely as opposition parties muse about bringing down the government in a confidence vote, and the Conservatives have locked Parliament into a weeks' long debate over a matter of privilege in the House. 

Trudeau could avert both problems by taking the controversial step of proroguing Parliament, which some political watchers have mused would allow time for a Liberal leadership race if he were to step down.

In the meantime, the prime minister also plans to shuffle his cabinet to replace four cabinet ministers who don't plan to run again in the next election.

One of those ministers, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, said Friday he's not leaving because of Trudeau or the Liberals' re-election prospects. 

"It does not mean that I've lost confidence in our party or the prime minister," said Vandal, who spoke at the same press conference as Freeland.

"In fact, I'm very confident that the polls are going to tighten up as time goes on, and I think it would be foolish to vote against our party."

MORE National ARTICLES

Ottawa police identify 15 suspects in storming of Senegalese Embassy

Ottawa police identify 15 suspects in storming of Senegalese Embassy
Ottawa police are asking for help identifying 15 people accused of storming the Embassy of Senegal. The Senegalese Embassy says in a statement that people violently took over the premises, causing serious damage to the consular section and hurting staff and visitors.

Ottawa police identify 15 suspects in storming of Senegalese Embassy

Man and his dog attacked by racoons

Man and his dog attacked by racoons
Jake Moss says he and his dog Pingu were walking down West 1st Avenue when the dog stopped to sniff the bushes and the raccoons pounced. Pingu lost an eye in the attack and Moss was treated in hospital, where fragments of raccoon tooth were removed from his puncture wounds.

Man and his dog attacked by racoons

Census workers logged hundreds of cases of violence, harassment by public: documents

Census workers logged hundreds of cases of violence, harassment by public: documents
Statistics Canada documents show workers who went door-to-door to collect data for the 2021 census logged hundreds of workplace injuries and at least 15 assaults by members of the public. The data tables obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information law list 680 injury reports, including more than 280 cases of harassment or violence.   

Census workers logged hundreds of cases of violence, harassment by public: documents

Terms of new contract that resolved British Columbia port dispute are released

Terms of new contract that resolved British Columbia port dispute are released
The terms of the new contract are being shared by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, highlighting how the two sides finally got to together following months-long dispute, which included a disruptive 13-day strike.

Terms of new contract that resolved British Columbia port dispute are released

Moon mission with Canada's Jeremy Hansen remains on schedule for November 2024: NASA

Moon mission with Canada's Jeremy Hansen remains on schedule for November 2024: NASA
Officials at NASA say the mission that will send a Canadian astronaut into lunar space for the first time is still on track to launch in November of next year.  Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, from London, Ont.,  was on hand in Florida today for a public update on Artemis II, the first trip to lunar space in 52 years.

Moon mission with Canada's Jeremy Hansen remains on schedule for November 2024: NASA

Pilot program seeks to reward companies that better protect temporary foreign workers

Pilot program seeks to reward companies that better protect temporary foreign workers
Under the "recognized employer pilot" program, companies with a good track record would only need to prove that they require temporary foreign workers every three years, instead of every 18 months. n The employer's trusted status would also be flagged to potential workers in the government's job bank.

Pilot program seeks to reward companies that better protect temporary foreign workers