‘Vast majority’ of Liberal caucus supports Trudeau, Freeland assures

(Milton, Ontario) The “overwhelming majority” of Liberal MPs continue to support their leader, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland insisted Thursday.

The comments come as questions mount about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership and whether he has the full support of a caucus he hasn’t met since the party’s loss in last week’s Toronto byelection.

M^me Freeland said a group of Toronto-area MPs met at her home Wednesday night to discuss the results in Toronto–St. Paul.

The meeting was chaired by Liberal MP John McKay, she told reporters, adding that she had offered to host it because of its central location.

“I think it was a really valuable opportunity for us to talk to each other, to talk about the results of the byelection, to talk about what they mean, to hear what Canadians are telling us,” she said.

M^me Freeland said voters sent a strong message to the Liberals when they handed the Conservatives a surprise victory Monday in a riding that had been Liberal for more than 30 years.

“It’s absolutely incumbent upon us to hear this message, which is that things are difficult, that life is really difficult right now,” she said.

“And you, our government, have to do a better job of securing the things that matter in our lives. You have to do a better job of making our lives easier,” the deputy prime minister paraphrased, adding that the Liberals were collectively “absolutely committed to doing that.”

Trudeau would not say Wednesday whether he would hold a national caucus meeting to discuss the fallout from the byelection loss. He has met with a small group of caucus leaders, but there are currently no plans for the full Liberal caucus to meet until September.

Some Liberal MPs have privately called for a full caucus meeting soon and others also want a cabinet shuffle.

Justin Trudeau and his office have remained silent on both ideas.