麻豆影视

Skip to main content

'Wish him all the best': Trudeau dismisses Liberal loyalist saying party would benefit from new leader

Share

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has dismissed a long-time Liberal and current senator's suggestion that it may be time he steps down to make room for a new Liberal party leader.

This week, Sen. Percy Downe went public with his views amid a downward trend in the polls, economic unease and rumour mills churning about potential Liberal leadership contenders readying to replace him.

In a radio interview on The Vassy Kapelos Show Thursday, Downe said he's hearing from "many members of the caucus" who are concerned and consider the time between now and February as critical for the party to conduct some internal soul-searching about the best path forward.

"It's quite widespread," Downe said. When asked why no other Liberals have said publicly what he claims they've communicated privately, the senator said they can't for a range of reasons, including the fact that the party leader signs their nomination forms.

"It's very difficult for them to do that and not see their careers go down in flames," Downe said. "I would like to hear Mr. Trudeau address the concerns in the party publicly."

Asked to comment on this chatter, on his way in to question period, the prime minister became animated.

"Oh Percy, yeah. How's he doing?" Trudeau asked, to which a reporter indicated that he wants the prime minister to quit.

"Oh well, 鈥 I wish him all the best in the work that he's doing," the prime minister said, with a grin on his face.

Trudeau has repeatedly reaffirmed his plans to stay on and lead the Liberal party into the next federal election, campaigning against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

 

Downe has been in the upper chamber since 2003, and was dropped alongside all Liberal senators from the Liberal caucus by Trudeau in 2014. He previously worked as former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien's chief of staff.

The senator first made his case in an op-ed published by The Hill Times on Monday that was then re-posted on news aggregator on Wednesday.

"There's a very strong feeling in the Liberal party that Pierre can be defeated. The question is, is a change of leadership required to do that or not?" he told Kapelos, while noting the Liberal party owes Justin Trudeau a "tremendous debt of gratitude," for pulling them from third to first place and maintaining government for eight years.

"But there's a sense in the party 鈥 that there should be a discussion about where the party is going. And that discussion should be over the next 16 weeks, in case Justin decides not to run again, there will be time for a leadership and a new leader to step forward." 

Asked by reporters after question period what he made of Downe's comments and whether he thinks the prime minister can bounce back, long-time Trudeau ally and Liberal cabinet minister Seamus O'Regan said "absolutely."

"Governments fluctuate鈥. you don't lose faith. No. All this talk," he said. "The job's not vacant."

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

Stay Connected