Members of the Liberal Party of Canada are calling for a secret ballot to determine if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should step down as the leader of the party, Canadian media reported on Monday.
“I’m very much in favor of a secret ballot. I think it’s time that we clear the air,” Liberal MP Helena Jaczek told CTV News on Monday.
Jaczek said she had “no idea” if Trudeau would reconsider his determination to remain as party leader and prime minister candidate against the Conservative Party, which is currently about 20 points ahead in the polls.
“I would hope that he is considering what he heard from his caucus, from a number of people in his caucus, I think that is significant. Our duty is to report to the prime minister what is going on in our constituencies, and a number of people shared that information,” she said.
Jaczek was referring to a feisty caucus meeting last Wednesday in which Liberal back-benchers lashed out at the increasingly unpopular Trudeau and asked him to step aside.
The unhappy Liberals wrote Trudeau a letter, setting Monday as the deadline to make his decision, but he did not even wait that long, insisting shortly after the caucus meeting that he would remain as party leader.
“I do think that a secret ballot where everyone agrees to accept the results of that vote would help ensure unity with the caucus, unity within our party,” Ontario MP Yvan Baker told CTV, seconding Jaczek’s sentiments.
“Frankly, a secret ballot is the best way for MPs to vote without being worried about consequences or attribution of any kind,” Baker added, pointing to one of the major reasons the rebels want a secret ballot. Some of them are convinced the number of Liberals who wish to oust Trudeau is much larger than the handful who have signed a petition to that effect, but they are afraid to speak out because Trudeau will retaliate against them.
Liberal MP Sean Casey, an outspoken Trudeau critic who signed the petition, seemed confident a secret ballot would draw far more anti-Trudeau votes than the petition has.
“He’s convinced he’s the right guy. I think he’s getting bad advice,” Casey said of the prime minister.
Some of Trudeau’s critics wistfully suggested he was only putting on a show by insisting he will stand for election again because the moment he agreed to resign he would become a crippled lame duck. Others sounded notes of weary resignation, suggesting they want a secret ballot so they can take some concrete action to clear their consciences, even if the ballot fails and Trudeau remains.
The vast majority of the Liberal caucus seems unwilling to force Trudeau out, and so does the majority of the Liberal electorate. CTV cited polls that said only 32 percent of Liberal voters think Trudeau should step aside, while 52 percent want him to remain.
Trudeau’s cabinet rallied in his defense on Tuesday and rejected the secret ballot idea, insisting it is time to “move on” from the notion of dumping the party leader.
“If you want to express yourself in the Liberal caucus, you stand up and talk. But the Prime Minister has been very clear: he’s the Leader. He’s going to take us into the next election,” said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault.
Other cabinet ministers argued that continuing to talk pointlessly about jettisoning Trudeau would only weaken the Liberal Party in a tough race against the Conservatives and their leader, Pierre Poilievre.
“One thing that unites us all is we want to beat Poilievre and we have to remain focused on organizing and planning a campaign to do that,” said Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada.
Not everyone in the caucus thinks they can beat Poilievre and a few of the most apprehensive Liberals are talking about bailing out.
“I’m a Liberal and I’m a proud Liberal, but there’s also a time when I’m going to have to look in the mirror and say, ‘OK, what do I do here? How do I sit in a caucus where I don’t really agree with who’s leading that caucus?’” New Brunswick MP Wayne Long told the Times-Colonist on Monday.
“That’s just something I think to myself, and I think maybe a lot of other MPs are just going to have to decide for themselves over the coming day or week,” Long said.
Long, and any other Liberals who feel as he does, might need to start packing their parachutes quickly. Next Tuesday brings a deadline set by the Bloc Quebecois party to receive certain legislative concessions from the Liberals. If they do not get what they want, the Bloc has threatened to throw in with the Conservatives to hold a no-confidence vote and bring the Trudeau administration down. Trudeau has survived a few recent confidence votes, but only with the help of the Bloc Quebecois.
“The Bloc has received absolutely nothing from Justin Trudeau. Trudeau offered them nothing. It’s time for the Bloc to work for Quebecers rather than working for Trudeau and vote for a carbon tax election,” Conservative leader Poilievre taunted at a press conference on Monday.