Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses caucus during a meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Grassroots Liberals are calling on MPs and the party’s executive to vote on whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should remain as leader, in a move that could ratchet up pressure on him to quit.
Their demands come in a memorandum and petition circulating just hours before Mr. Trudeau was to hear from frustrated MPs at a closed-door caucus meeting.
The memo describes the unnamed organizers of what’s being called “Code Red” as members and supporters of the Liberal party who are “deeply concerned” about the party’s state of affairs and “threats to its very survival.”
They want secret-ballot votes on Mr. Trudeau’s future held before Oct. 31, and in parallel, want the party to launch a widespread review of how it operates.
“This is about accountability,” said long-time Liberal Andrew Perez who is acting as a spokesperson for the group.
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Mr. Perez said grassroots discussions have been under way for months about the need for the party to make changes, prompted by unrest within the party’s youth wing.
The young Liberals in turn reached out to older backers of the party – among those supporting the movement is former party president Alfred Apps – culminating in the a petition now circulating to what he said were tens of thousands of Liberal Party members and supporters.
“We believe our party is facing an existential crisis,” Mr. Perez said.
Mr. Perez said party members, including riding associations and others, believe the leadership of the party is not responsive to their concerns, and operates in a vacuum where those loyal to the Prime Minister simply rubber-stamp his demands.
Among the broad issues he citied were the loss of two safe seats in by-elections this year and the extent to which the rival Conservative party massively out-fundraises and out-spends the Liberals.
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Mr. Perez said the group’s efforts are not connected to anyone seeking to replace Mr. Trudeau as leader and are also distinct from the rumblings within the party’s caucus coming to a head Wednesday morning.
During the open microphone session planned for the party’s weekly caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, MPs are expected to present Mr. Trudeau with a written document of their own reflecting a desire for him to quit.
Ken McDonald, the MP for Avalon, is among the signatories and said Wednesday he believes there are more than 20 others.
The Prime Minister’s Office believes only a handful of MPs will actually stand up Wednesday and voice their concerns. During an extended meeting on Tuesday, two Liberal sources told the Globe that the Prime Minister told his cabinet that he plans to stay as Leader.
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A senior government official told The Globe ahead of the Wednesday caucus meeting that the Prime Minister’s message to his MPs is expected to be that he will remain leader and they can choose whether they want to get behind him or leave.
The Globe is not identifying the official or sources because they were not permitted to disclose internal plans and conversations.
Mr. McDonald acknowledged that Mr. Trudeau may not heed the calls for him to quit.
“If he doesn’t want to resign, which I doubt he will, I think he still has to work with caucus, regardless of where we’re from or what we’re saying, and listen to us to a certain extent to try and correct the wrongs that have been done.”
The Code Red effort also acknowledges that Mr. Trudeau could choose to remain at the helm. But Mr. Perez said their demands that the party modernize its infrastructure and operations are equally as important as any referendum on his future.
“This is work regardless of who the leader is,” he said.
