Freeland nixes Liberal calls for secret Trudeau ballot: ‘Not how we do things’
Global News
Some dissenters within the Liberal caucus are calling for MPs to vote in a secret ballot on whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should remain leader.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has rejected the idea of the Liberal caucus holding a secret ballot vote on Justin Trudeau’s leadership, saying it’s “just not how Liberals govern themselves.”
Last week, 24 members of the caucus signed on to a letter calling on the prime minister to step down, but the next day Trudeau said firmly that he will lead his party into the next election.
Some of the dissenters are now calling for Liberal MPs to vote in a secret ballot on whether Trudeau should remain leader.
Freeland said leaders are not chosen by secret ballot in the Liberal party.
“Our party and our caucus have had many opportunities to decide our own rules for choosing a leader,” she said at her weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“Our party decided on that, and our caucus decided on that. And in our rules, the leader is not chosen by secret ballot of caucus members. That’s just not how Liberals govern themselves. It’s not how we do things.”
After each election, parties have the opportunity to decide if they will avail themselves of measures contained in the Reform Act, which allows MPs to force a leadership review.
The Conservatives were the only party to opt in after the last election, and those measures were used to oust former leader Erin O’Toole from his role in 2022.
