ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland (LifeSiteNews) — Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Ken McDonald has swiftly backtracked on his Wednesday statement calling for a review of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership.
Just one day after the January 24 interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in which McDonald, a Newfoundland MP, argued that Canadians should be given an opportunity to replace Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party, the politician has issued a statement saying the opposite.
“The intent of my recent public comments was not to personally call for a leadership review, and I am not calling for one now,” McDonald told the CBC in a Thursday statement.
The Thursday comment issued by McDonald seems to be in direct contrast to what he told the state-broadcaster on Wednesday.
“Every leader, every party has a best-before date. Our best-before date is here,” McDonald said Wednesday.
In the initial interview, McDonald observed that Trudeau managed to lead the Liberal Party to victory in 2015. However, he also noted that Trudeau has since disappointed Canadians.
“As a party, let’s clear the air, and if people are still intent on having the leader we have now, fine. But at least give people the opportunity to have their say in what they think [of] the direction the party is going,” he said.
Trudeau seems to have already attempted to regain popularity in Atlantic Canada by pausing the collection of the carbon tax on home heating oil for three years.
However, the exemption has led to increased dislike for Trudeau nationwide as it primarily benefits the Liberal-held Atlantic provinces, leaving other provinces literally out in the cold as they heat their homes with clean-burning natural gas, a fuel that will not be exempted from the carbon tax.
Following this, five Canadian premiers from coast to coast banded together to demand Trudeau drop the carbon tax on home heating bills for all provinces, saying his policy of giving one region a tax break over another has caused “divisions.”
In recent months, Trudeau’s popularity with Canadians has plummeted, with polls revealing that most Canadians think that he should step down before the next election.
While McDonald has now walked back his statement, he has not been the only member of the Liberal Party to condemn Trudeau’s leadership. In November, Liberal Senator Percy Downe wrote that the Liberal Party needs to look for another leader.
Recent polling shows that support for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party is hitting positive levels not seen since the early days of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Indeed, a Federal @338Canada model has the “Outcome Odds” for a Conservative majority government at 95 percent.
Digging a little deeper, a recent Leger poll shows the Conservatives taking some 211 seats, a gain of 90 seats (well over the majority of 170 needed) with the Trudeau Liberals losing 90 seats. They would win only 70 if an election were held today.
Earlier this week, Trudeau’s reputation took another blow: the Federal Court ruled that his use of the Emergencies Act in response to the 2022 Freedom Convoy was “not justified” and a violation of Charter rights. Notably, the ruling came from a Liberal appointed judge.
During the convoy, Trudeau had disparaged unvaccinated Canadians, saying those opposing his measures were of a “small, fringe minority” who held “unacceptable views” and did not “represent the views of Canadians who have been there for each other.”
In response to the ruling, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre called for Trudeau to be ‘fired.’ He argued that the current Prime Minister “caused the crisis by dividing people. Then he violated Charter rights to illegally suppress citizens.”
“As PM, I will unite our country for freedom,” he promised.
BREAKING: Judge rules Trudeau broke the highest law in the land with the Emergencies Act.
He caused the crisis by dividing people. Then he violated Charter rights to illegally suppress citizens. As PM, I will unite our country for freedom.
Sign here to fire Trudeau and unite… pic.twitter.com/k7d9VxozCK
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) January 23, 2024
READ: Pierre Poilievre calls out Trudeau for failure to condemn recent church burnings in Canada