Quebec Liberal MPs are calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down before the next federal election, Global News has learned, becoming the third regional caucus to do so.
The Quebec MPs have been discussing the prime minister’s fate amongst themselves since the House of Commons rose for the winter break on Dec. 17, and came to the conclusion Trudeau must resign, a source with direct knowledge of the discussions told Global News.
Stephane Lauzon, who chairs the Quebec Liberal caucus, has been tasked to deliver that message to national caucus leadership, the source said.
News of the Quebec MP discussions was previously reported by iPolitics, citing sources within the caucus who said Lauzon had sent a letter to the executive caucus informing them of the MPs’ decision. CBC News and the Globe and Mail also reported on the conversations but did not confirm the existence of a letter.
In a statement released Tuesday, Lauzon wouldn’t confirm the private conversations or deny reports of the caucus’ conclusion that Trudeau should resign.
However, he said there have been no official caucus meetings since Dec. 11 and that “no letter has been signed or circulated within the Quebec Liberal MPs Caucus before, during, or after” that meeting.
Lauzon, who is currently vacationing out of the country with his family, said the Quebec caucus is holding its next official meeting on Jan. 9.
The Quebec caucus’ call for Trudeau to step down comes shortly after the Ontario and Atlantic Liberal caucuses reached the same conclusion over the winter break. It means a vast majority of Liberal MPs now want the prime minister to resign.
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“Those are the major planks of the Liberal foundation, and if that’s the case, it becomes really, really difficult to see how (Trudeau) can keep going,” Lori Turnbull, a political science professor at Dalhousie University, told Global News.
“This is death by a thousand cuts.”
The source told Global News that Trudeau’s position was untenable and expects he would face a revolt from the full caucus if he does not step aside.
In an interview that aired on The West Block last month shortly after the House of Commons rose for the winter break, Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said Trudeau needs to go and that the “vast majority” of caucus colleagues he had spoken to privately agree with him.
A growing number of Liberal MPs from across the country have publicly urged Trudeau to resign since one-time staunch ally Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned as finance minister and deputy prime minister last month in a shocking blow to the cabinet.
Trudeau is currently vacationing with his family in B.C., but Ontario Liberal MP Chandra Arya told Global News last month he believed the prime minister was “seriously considering” his future.
“It’s the question of when — that is the key issue now, whether it has to be done now,” Arya said.
Atlantic caucus chair and Nova Scotia MP Kody Blois penned a letter to Trudeau last month, which was shared publicly by New Brunswick MP Wayne Long, that said it is no longer “tenable” for Trudeau to continue to lead the party.
Trudeau and the Liberals have been lagging in the polls for over a year but have hit new lows in recent weeks.
A Dec. 20 poll by Ipsos for Global News found Trudeau just one point above the record-low support seen by former Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in 2011, with only 23 per cent of Canadian surveyed saying they think Trudeau deserves re-election. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said he should resign.
The poll, which suggests 53 per cent of Canadians now want an early election, had the Liberals tied with the NDP at 20 per cent support.
Ten days after that poll, Angus Reid released data showing the Liberals were finishing the year with just 16 per cent support — the lowest level since 2014 and worse than what the Liberals received under Ignatieff in the 2011 election. Trudeau received just 22 per cent support in that poll.
Angus Reid also found nearly half of Canadians want Trudeau to resign and make way for a leadership contest to replace him immediately, while two-in-five want an election as early as February.
The next election is currently scheduled for no later than October 2025.
The House of Commons is scheduled to return Jan. 27, and both the Conservatives and the NDP have said they plan to introduce non-confidence motions to bring down the government and trigger an election at the earliest opportunity.
Turnbull said it’s “very possible” that Trudeau instead prorogues Parliament before the House returns — suspending all legislative and committee business for a specified time period — to either buy himself time to remain as prime minister, or allow for a leadership race to replace him.
The fast-approaching inauguration on Jan. 20 of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump — who has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports — puts additional pressure on Trudeau to either ensure stability of government or allow Canadians to choose a new one, Turnbull added.
“The timing of all this is really, really unfortunate,” she said.
—With files from Global’s Mercedes Stephenson, Heidi Petracek, David Akin and Uday Rana
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
https://globalnews.ca/news/10938997/trudeau-resign-future-quebec-liberal-caucus/
