Even though Mark Carney has just been Canada’s prime minister for a month, some Liberal lawmakers are already plotting his ouster.
They claim it’s not about them personally.
On Sunday, the first item of business for Liberal legislators who will be gathering the day before the next Canadian Parliament starts will be to vote on whether or not to grant themselves the authority to oust Carney as leader whenever they so want.
The competition isn’t as fierce as it seems.
As long as Carney can continue to persuade Canadians that he can successfully revamp the country’s economy, the Liberal Party’s members in parliament will continue to support him wholeheartedly.
“But the future is to be determined,” said one anonymous member of parliament who want to discuss the matter openly. “One or two years from now, we have no idea what it will be like.”
The Liberal Party was unable to remove Justin Trudeau from office when he overstayed his welcome. Many party members are hell-bent on making sure that the past does not repeat itself when the House starts over. Legislators who were re-elected are still smarting from Trudeau’s refusal to step down, and many of them want to strike a better balance of power between their caucuses and the Prime Minister’s Office, which they perceive as too domineering and isolated during his nine years and more in office.
The legislators will decide whether to implement reforms outlined in Canada’s Reform Act, which include the power to depose their leader, during their first caucus meeting following the election last month.
“A powerful symbolic gesture” that demonstrates “confidence in his ability” to keep caucus on side would be to submit Carney to the new regulations, according to Sophie Chatel, a Liberal MP from Quebec, who told AWN.
With a fresh focus to rebuilding the connection with caucus, it would also signify a shift from the previous leadership, she noted.
Prior to the opening of Parliament following each federal election, party caucuses are required to vote on the adoption of certain regulations under the act. It is required by law to be addressed at the outset of each caucus meeting. By a simple majority vote, legislators can arm themselves with the authority to depose the party leader, dismiss the caucus chair, or expel an MP from their group.
Although Carney has recognized the impending vote, he has chosen not to address its content.
Last week, Carney made the statement, “I noticed that this will happen. A number of votes will be cast.
Several members of parliament who have been discussing the vote spoke with AWN; they were all given anonymity since they were not permitted to discuss issues within their caucus.
Concerned that the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet would try to influence votes—particularly by pressing rookie MPs—as was commonplace under Trudeau, some are calling for a secret ballot.
Michael Chong, a Conservative lawmaker, conceived up the Reform Act to give lawmakers more autonomy and less influence on party bosses. However, a caucus vote is required for the rules to take effect.
Former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole was removed from office in 2022 through the application of the legislation; Pierre Poilievre, the current leader, succeeded her.
The law went into force in 2015, but the Liberals have never accepted it, in part because it was a policy proposal from the Conservatives. According to one Liberal MP who spoke with AWN, Trudeau’s office dispatched top Cabinet ministers to divert lawmakers’ attention away from the vote, ensuring that there was never any vigorous debate over it.
Liberal lawmakers were left hanging until Trudeau resigned independently. They are looking for future sureties after the party’s comeback victory.
The Reform Act is “a mechanism that reminds the leader that they’re there because of caucus,” according to one lawmaker.
Some saw it as a protective measure. After being manipulated by Trudeau and his inner circle, caucus members felt it was typically a good idea, according to one third of them.
The use of secret ballots could determine the outcome of the vote. Nobody wants to be associated with “holding a knife behind the back of the prime minister,” as one lawmaker put it.
