One local Member of Parliament is among a group of vocal federal representatives calling for a change of leadership from within the Liberal Party.
West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country MP Patrick Weiler is advocating for a secret ballot in caucus on whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should run in the federal election next fall.
Weiler says there is growing consensus among his constituents and fellow party members that Trudeau won’t be able to lead the Liberals to victory in the next election, and should step down to allow for fresh leadership of the party.
Weiler is not alone. Several other Liberal MPs have gone public with their disaffection, including Etobicoke Centre MP Yvan Baker and Saint John-Rothesay MP Wayne Long.
In their view, a secret ballot in the Liberal caucus – where their identities would be kept private – would allow all the party members to express their opinions without fear of retribution for their dissent.
“What I and a number of my colleagues have supported is to have a secret ballot so that members of the caucus can express their own views, and particularly the views of their constituents, on who would be best placed to lead our party into the next election,” Weiler said.
“To do that in a forum where there isn’t that fear of retribution for speaking their mind would also be a way to bring a resolution, and also to bring unity and that level of consensus on the best way to move forward,” he said.
Currently, the ball on potential leadership change lies in the court of national caucus chair Brenda Shanahan and Trudeau himself, because the Liberals don’t have a formal mechanism for leadership change.
“The Conservative Party, for instance, adopted the Reform Act, where if you have 20 per cent of caucus members asking for a leadership review, that moves forward,” Weiler said. “We don’t have that.”
So far, Shanahan and Trudeau have claimed there is an overwhelming majority of support for the prime minister, and therefore leadership shouldn’t change, Weiler said.
But that doesn’t match the private conversations Weiler has had with other MPs on the subject, he added.
“The prime minister’s office holds a tremendous amount of power,” Weiler said. “There are people that are not always wanting to rock the boat. They might be concerned about what that might mean for them, personally or professionally.”
That’s why the secret ballot is the best method to gauge the appetite for change, Weiler said.
“It’s a way to give people that freedom … to honestly share their view [expressed in] conversations that are very much happening privately,” he said.
Weiler 'very concerned' about potential Poilievre government
Weiler said he listens closely to what his constituents tell him. He’s heard that voters support what the federal government is doing on child care, dental care and housing.
“They’re also telling me that they’re very terrified of the thought of Canada having a right-wing, populist government led by Pierre Poilievre and what that would mean for services that they rely on, and progress on things like climate change,” he said.
“But they’ve also overwhelmingly made it clear to me that they don’t support the prime minister and they don’t want to vote for him,” Weiler continued. “Essentially, they’ve been telling me that they’re looking for change. And if we don’t deliver it, they will.”
That’s why he’s going public with his call for leadership change, Weiler said, “even if it does come at a personal toll, because that’s what they elected me to do.”
The MP said that changing the head of the Liberal Party would leave plenty of time for a successful campaign before the federal vote in October 2025.
“A year in politics is an eternity,” he said. “It’s really hard to say what the outcome would be, but … in any event, we’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
Weiler also acknowledged that there’s been notable interest from sitting Liberals and others candidates who provide “compelling” choices as to the next party leader.
“I think there are lots of great options for our party and for our country,” he said.
Ultimately, Weiler said he’s very concerned about what a Poilievre government would look like.
“That’s what got me into politics – what the Harper government did during their majority years, how they completely gutted all of Canada’s environmental laws, they started trying to create two classes of Canadian citizens, going after different immigrant communities,” he said.
“One of the key motivating factors for me is to ensure I do everything I can to prevent that from happening. Because if I didn’t do that, I would regret that for the rest of my life,” Weiler said.
