Liberal parliamentarians will meet Sunday (May 25), a day before Canada’s new parliamentary session starts, to vote on implementing provisions of Canada’s Reform Act that would allow caucus members to remove Carney as party leader at any time.
Mark Carney has been the prime minister of Canada for only a month, but some Liberal politicians are already looking at steps to possibly oust him from office.
Liberal Members of Parliament will meet Sunday (May 25), a day ahead of Canada’s new session of Parliament convening, to pass measures taken from Canada’s Reform Act to grant members of the party caucus the ability to remove Carney as party leader at any time.
Party colleagues emphasize the shift is not about personalities. Indeed, they now back Carney, who, having succeeded in persuading voters that he could reinvigorate Canada’s economy, guided the Liberals to power at the polls.
The move comes in part as a response to what the Liberals endured during the tenure of previous Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose failure to resign despite internal dissatisfaction left many Liberal legislators dissatisfied following nine years of what they perceived as centralized, insular rule from his office.
Quebec Liberal MP Sophie Chatel called the vote “a strong symbolic gesture” that showed faith in the leadership of Carney and a commitment to strengthening the rapport between caucus and prime minister.
Following every federal election and before Parliament first convenes, party caucuses are required to vote on taking on some aspects of the Reform Act, which involve mechanisms for the removal of lawmakers from the party leader, expulsion of a caucus chair, or ejection of an MP from caucus.
