Liberal MP calls on Trudeau to resign

A revolt is brewing. New Brunswick MP Wayne Long has openly called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign, penning a letter to caucus members Friday afternoon, the Star has learned.

- ALTHIA RAJ

Liberal MP Wayne Long is forcing a conversation the prime minister had hoped to escape, Althia Raj writes.

“Colleagues, after reflecting on this week’s defeat in Toronto—St Paul’s and then seeing the response, I want you to know clearly and directly where I stand,” he wrote.

“For the future of our party and for the good of our country we need new leadership and a new direction. The voters have spoken loud and clear they want change. I agree.”

I’m told more than a handful of MPs were ready to sign Long’s letter. It was understood it would leak to the media, and start a national conversation.

But many MPs who feel the same way Long does weren’t ready to put their necks on the line in such a public fashion.

“A majority, if not the vast majority, of caucus want to see the prime minister step down,” an Ontario Liberal MP told me Friday.

The list includes names that are part of Trudeau’s team, who for their own career advancement don’t want to be identified as backstabbers, be demoted or be prevented from running under the Liberal banner again. Long, the MP for Saint John-Rothesay, previously announced he wasn’t running again.

I did not call 155 MPs. I can’t tell you if it’s a majority of caucus, but I can tell you many, many MPs feel this way.

Within caucus, it’s being referred to as “the most difficult moment” for the Liberal party since the loss of 2011, when then-leader Michael Ignatieff plunged the party to third place with 19 per cent of the vote. Trudeau, according to public opinion polls, is only three points away from that result.