Liberal minister tells MPs to stop ‘navel-gazing’ over byelection loss

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OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should stay on as party leader and advised Liberal colleagues to not lick their wounds for too long after their party’s resounding defeat in a formerly safe Toronto riding.

Speaking in Montreal, Miller said there is “obviously a period of introspection that occurs after any win or after any loss” and that it is “an important process to go through” but that the quicker MPs can get back to work for Canadians, the better.

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“This is a loss, let’s not minimize the loss,” he told reporters Wednesday. “I think a lot of us have to take a step back and give our heads a shake and screw it on a little better, stop the navel-gazing and get back on the horse and fight for Canadians.”

Trudeau’s Liberals lost the byelection this week in Toronto—St. Paul’s, a riding they have comfortably held for over 30 years, to the Conservatives by 590 votes. The riding was previously held by Carolyn Bennett, now ambassador to Denmark. The stunning upset has intensified questions about Trudeau’s leadership and whether he should quit.

Trudeau said it was “obviously not the result we wanted” and that he hears “people’s concerns and frustrations” but gave no indication that we was willing to step down.

No MP has publicly called for Trudeau to step down as leader as of yet, but there is increasing pressure on the Liberals to consider all their options, including a change in leadership, given that polls currently show them heading toward a resounding defeat in the next election.

Cabinet ministers have all come out to support Trudeau to stay on as Liberal leader.

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Miller, who is a close friend of Trudeau’s, said his professional advice to him is “absolutely to stay on.”

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said he “wouldn’t be here” without Trudeau and that he has his “eternal gratitude” and his support to continue as leader.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland also said “yes, he certainly can” when she was asked repeatedly if Trudeau should remain as leader in a press conference on Tuesday.

Guilbeault said he was busy meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts about wildlife and biodiversity in the last few days but said none of the Liberal MPs or cabinet colleagues that he spoke to in recent days are calling for Trudeau’s resignation.

Miller insisted that Trudeau is the “best placed” Liberal to run against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the next general election.

He said that he understands people can get tired of the government in place, that lots has happened in the last nine years, and that “whether people are right or wrong, they do blame the government for a number of things that are going on.”

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But Canadians should consider the alternative, which he said presents a “negative” view of where the country would be headed, and is hoping Canadians will come around.

Miller has never hidden his dislike of Poilievre, whom he has called a “charlatan” and a “snake-oil salesman” in the past. He said the Opposition leader reminds him of a “wrestling manager from the ’80s yelling slogans” and expecting people to “boo or to cheer.”

“Look, I’ve been quite clear. I think the guy is a fake. We shouldn’t focus too much on this guy. I think Canadians are smart and, as I’ve said, Canadians have pretty good bullshit detectors and they know when they’re being bullshitted,” Miller said.

“I think over the course of the year, people will realize that, and you’ve got to trust Canadians.”

Guilbeault also expressed hope that the Liberals’ political fortunes will improve in the next few months.

“I think we need to continue showing Canadians that we’re there for them. And right now, clearly, some of them either don’t believe that or they don’t see it. And I think we need to do a better job at communicating what we’re doing to help them,” Guilbeault said.

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“I’m not saying it’s just about communication, but it’s about continuing to engage with them.”

Those assurances from top ministers have not stopped Liberals from trying to find potential successors to Trudeau.

Former Liberal MP Frank Baylis, who represented a Montreal riding from 2015 to 2019, told CBC News that he has been approached for an eventual leadership run by a “number of people” and that he is “taking their request seriously.”

Baylis said there has been interest in the Liberal party taking a “more centrist viewpoint, a more fiscally responsible approach” and that he would fit the profile.

He was however embroiled in controversy after his company, Baylis Medical Tech, was part of a consortium of companies that received a $237-million contract to provide 10,000 ventilators during the pandemic.

At the time, Baylis said he had not used any of his past relationships in the federal government to try to get the contract.

National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com

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