The Liberal cabinet is doubling down on support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he faces scrutiny over his leadership amid a growing internal party revolt to push him to step down.
Up to 30 Liberal MPs have signed an internal document calling on Trudeau to step aside, which is expected to be raised at the next caucus meeting on Wednesday.
Several ministers put up a united front ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, saying they back Trudeau in leading the Liberal Party and the country.
“It’s a large tent and people are entitled to their opinions … and mine is that I support this prime minister unequivocally,” said Marci Ien, minister for women and gender equality and youth
“He says that he is staying, he says he’s not going anywhere. But again, I leave that up to him. What I will tell you is that he has my support.”
Health Minister Mark Holland said that “these are not easy times to lead,” but that he and most of his colleagues have “full confidence” in Trudeau.
“These are difficult times, and they require careful deliberation every day, an enormous amount of hard work and taking in all the stress in the world and trying to hold people and that’s not easy and I think the prime minister’s doing it well,” Holland told reporters in Ottawa.
“I think he’s somebody who led us through incredibly difficult times. He takes punches like nobody I’ve ever seen.”
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge also expressed her support for Trudeau, saying she and the entire cabinet are “100 per cent behind the prime minister.”
“I know he’s still the leader for the Liberal Party,” St-Onge said.
“I think it’s time for the caucus and for us all to really think about Canadians and use our efforts to make sure that we address the affordability crisis and the preoccupations of Canadians during this time. It’s also a good time for us to get ready for the next election.
Pressure has been mounting on Trudeau’s Liberals since the summer, which saw two major byelection losses on top of the NDP withdrawing support from the supply-and-confidence agreement last month.
Meanwhile, support for Trudeau and his Liberal government has hit a “new low,” Ipsos polling exclusive to Global News shows.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said scrutiny around Trudeau’s leadership is “garbage” and takes away from focusing on defeating the Conservatives at the next election.
“It’s up to Canadians to decide. We have to prove it to Canadians and any minute spent on this garbage is a minute that’s not spent on Pierre Poilievre and what he wants to do in this country. And I think that’s very dangerous.”
Last week saw four more cabinet ministers tell Trudeau they won’t run for re-election, adding to a growing cabinet exodus and other MP resignations this year.
Those resigning ministers and the rest of cabinet have remained unified in expressing support for Trudeau to continue as leader.
Sean Casey, who is among the dozens of Liberal MPs who have signed on to an internal document calling on Trudeau to step aside, told reporters Monday he thinks it is in the nation’s best interest for the prime minister to step down in order to avoid a Conservative government led by Poilievre.
When asked about Casey’s comments, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said most in the party don’t agree with them, but it’s important to have that conversation.
“I don’t think it’s a perspective that’s shared by the vast majority of caucus, but it’s an important thing for us to talk about and I’m sure we’re going to talk about it tomorrow.”
Wilkinson also admitted that the party is behind in polls and that “there is concern” among members of the Liberal caucus.
“We will have a robust debate. We will come out with, in my view, support for the prime minister and move forward with the election.”
Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark said Monday she wants to be “part of the conversation” about the Liberals’ future if Trudeau were to step down.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and Jillian Piper