The national Liberal caucus met on Oct. 23 for more than three hours to address leadership questions that had been simmering for months. Liberal caucus sources told The Hill Times that about 50 MPs spoke at the meeting with roughly half of them in support of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the other half opposed to him carrying on as leader.

In the weeks leading up to the dramatic session, The Hill Times and other news outlets reported Liberal MPs had been holding private meetings, and discussed signing a pledge in an effort to change leadership before the next election. British Columbia MP Patrick Weiler read out the letter, and said 24 MPs had signed the document calling for Trudeau’s resignation by Oct. 28, according to Liberal sources.

One Liberal MP described the meeting as “the first time we’ve had a caucus meeting where people actually spoke their mind.”

Here are the names of some of the MPs who addressed caucus on Oct. 23, and more on the dramatic meeting from The Hill Times’ Abbas Rana and Ian Campbell.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Nov. 1, 2024, to clarify that some MPs didn’t directly call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down, but used language in a way that caucus sources interpreted as a desire for him not to lead the Liberals in the next election.

 

Abbas Rana is the assistant deputy editor at The Hill Times. He reports on parliamentary caucuses, nomination contests, party leadership campaigns, Prime Minister’s Office, and cabinet. Rana loves to chat with sources on the record or on a not-for-attribution basis, especially when they have verifiable story tips that could be followed as news stories. Born and raised in Pakistan, Rana speaks Punjabi, Urdu, and Hindi. See all stories BY ABBAS RANA