4 more Trudeau cabinet ministers won't seek re-election: sources
Prime minister to shuffle cabinet in coming weeks, sources say
Four more federal cabinet ministers will not run for re-election, Radio-Canada has learned, meaning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will reshuffle his cabinet at a time when his leadership is increasingly fragile.
Marie-Claude Bibeau (National Revenue), Carla Qualtrough (Sports), Filomena Tassi (Economic Development for Southern Ontario) and Dan Vandal (Northern Affairs) have informed the prime minister they won't be running in the next federal election.
They were all elected in the 2015 election. Ministers Bibeau and Qualtrough have held ministerial positions since then. Bibeau is considering a run for mayor of Sherbrooke, scheduled for fall 2025.
The four ministers will be removed from cabinet in a reshuffle scheduled for the coming weeks, sources told Radio-Canada.
The prime minister has yet to set a date for the shuffle. Some of his advisors believe it would be better to wait for the outcome of the U.S. election on Nov. 5 before finalizing the new ministerial team.
New faces expected in cabinet: sources
This brings the number of ministers who have opted not to stand for re-election since the start of the summer to six, following the loss of two big names close to Trudeau: Seamus O'Regan and Pablo Rodriguez.
According to Radio-Canada's count, 24 elected members of the Liberal caucus don't intend to seek re-election. That's not counting the seven MPs who have resigned since the last election, including former ministers Marc Garneau, David Lametti and Carolyn Bennett.
A major reshuffle in the summer of 2023 was supposed to give the government new life and replace ministers nearing retirement. Since then, the prime minister has been unable to gain ground against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the polls. This new wave of departures risks fuelling the perception of a government in disarray.
CBC's Poll Tracker shows the Conservatives maintaining a nearly 20-point lead over the Liberals.
Organized effort to oust Trudeau
The news of the ministers' departures comes at a turbulent time for Trudeau. A group is organizing to try to push him out by circulating a document calling for his departure; at least 20 elected representatives have signed it. Their intention is to confront the prime minister at next week's caucus meeting in Ottawa.
Some Liberal MPs have not hesitated to call for his departure publicly, such as Sean Casey, who says he has listened to the mood of his Charlottetown constituents.
"The message that I've been getting loud and clear — and more and more strongly as time goes by — is that it is time for [Trudeau] to go. And I agree," Casey told Power & Politics host David Cochrane in an exclusive interview Tuesday. "People have had enough. They've tuned him out and they want him to go."
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, asked to respond to the effort by a group of MPs, reiterated her support for Trudeau.
"He's the prime minister. There are conversations in caucus.... He'll make the decision. Period," she explained in an interview on Radio-Canada's En direct avec Patrice Roy on Wednesday.
"Some MPs may be looking more in the rear-view mirror than forward," Jean-Yves Duclos, Trudeau's new Quebec lieutenant, said at a press briefing on Wednesday. "I reaffirm my confidence and gratitude in Mr. Trudeau's leadership."
MP Joël Lightbound said he was uncomfortable with the secretive nature of the process initiated by some colleagues who want to show Trudeau the door.
"I'm a loyal person. If I have something to say, I won't do it with my face covered, I'll do it with my face uncovered. That's what bothers me about this move," he told reporters on Wednesday.
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