'Time to clear the air': Some Liberal MPs want secret ballot vote on Trudeau's leadership

Former cabinet minister and long-time Liberal MP Helena Jaczek is joining the growing number of caucus members calling for a secret ballot vote to decide whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should step down as leader of the party.

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“I'm very much in favour of a secret ballot,” Jaczek told CTV News Channel host Vassy Kapelos in an interview Monday. “I think it's time that we clear the air.”

Pressure has been mounting for weeks for Trudeau to step down as party leader, culminating in a longer-than-usual caucus meeting last Wednesday, during which many MPs gave the prime minister a deadline — today — to reflect on his political future.

Many MPs expressed disappointment when Trudeau insisted, at a press conference just 18 hours later, that he’s not going anywhere.

Jaczek said while the caucus is united in its desire to defeat Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the next election, there is “clearly a diversity of views” on the question of who should lead the Liberals in that race.

Asked about Trudeau’s adamance after less than a day of reflection that he will not step down, Jaczek said those statements wouldn’t necessarily preclude further reflection. But when asked whether she believes that reflection is actually occurring, she wasn’t sure. “Honestly, I have no idea.

“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,” Jaczek told Kapelos. “Our duty is to report to the prime minister what is going on in our constituencies, and a number of people shared that information.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Despite the process for a secret ballot not being entirely clear, other Liberal MPs also pushed for that move Monday.

Ontario Liberal MP Yvan Baker told CTV News that a secret ballot would be “the way to move forward.”

“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,” Baker said. “Frankly, a secret ballot is the best way for MPs to vote without being worried about consequences or attribution of any kind.”

There is no formal mechanism for the Liberal caucus to oust Trudeau. Unlike the Conservatives, the Liberal Party has not adopted the Reform Act. Under the Act, 20 per cent of caucus members are needed to sign an agreement to trigger a leadership review, and then a majority of caucus is needed to remove the leader.

"A secret ballot would put this to rest,” said Ontario Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi. “We need to have finality to this. I think that would help us as a party to move beyond this."

No consensus on what's next

Beyond those pushing for a vote, there does not appear to be consensus among dissenting MPs about next steps.

P.E.I. Liberal MP Sean Casey, who is among the few caucus members to publicly call for Trudeau to resign, says “there’s no group of 24 people trying to decide.”

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Casey also called on Trudeau to reconsider listening to those in his inner circle.

"He's convinced he's the right guy. I think he's getting bad advice,” Casey said.

B.C. Liberal MP Patrick Weiler, meanwhile, said he is still hopeful that Trudeau is still taking the time to reflect on his political future, despite his declaration last week.

“If he said anything else, he would be a lame duck prime minister, so of course he has to say that until he's made up his final decision,” Weiler said. “So I wasn't surprised to see that. I don't think that anybody should be. But I do hope he is taking the time to properly process.”

Others, meanwhile, say there’s too much at stake to not get behind Trudeau now, but they’re still looking for clarity from the prime minister on his perceived path to re-election.

“I’m looking for answers to two questions. One, what argument do we have for people to give us another term as government,” B.C. Liberal MP Ken Hardie said. “Two, what can (Trudeau) do to really deal with the very standard cycle that after 18 months, a new leader doesn’t have any friends anymore.”

Most Liberals want Trudeau: poll

New polling from the Angus Reid Institute shows that 52 per cent of current Liberal backers think Trudeau should stay on, while just 32 per cent think he should step down before the next election. 

"This is a group of voters who are really small, quite shrunken in terms of their size, compared to say, 2015, 2019, 2021,” said Angus Reid Institute president Shachi Kurl. “But they are pretty loyal. And they're saying, ‘no, he's fine, he doesn't need to go anywhere’.”

Looking more broadly to support among Canadians, approximately just as many say they’d still consider supporting the Liberals in a future election, as those who want Trudeau to leave as that party’s leader before the next vote.

CTV News political commentator Scott Reid said that likely the campaign from a group of “decentralized, somewhat disorganized,” Liberal MPs won’t be what brings him down, but rather the persisting prospect that if he sticks around the next election could end in “a very bad outcome” for the party he helped rebuild, may weigh on him enough to consider leaving.

“Obviously after 10 years, people are tired of the government. But, if you're talking about the straw that stirs the drink, it has become that the prime minister's personal numbers are a drag on the party.”

You can watch Jaczek’s full interview in the video player at the top of this article

With files from CTV’s Rachel Hanes and Stephanie Ha