Liberals need to give their 'heads a shake,' minister says after byelection loss
Marc Miller, a personal friend of Trudeau, says PM should 'absolutely stay on' as leader
Immigration Minister Marc Miller, a close personal friend of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said this week's stunning Liberal byelection loss in Toronto-St. Paul's should prompt some soul-searching within the party — but he maintains Trudeau is the one best placed to take on the Conservatives in the next election.
While some pollsters and pundits say the Conservative victory in a former Liberal stronghold is a sign that Trudeau and his party are headed for almost certain defeat in next year's general election, Miller said the party can still work its way back into Canadians' good graces.
"My advice as a close friend would not be given publicly, that's for sure. My advice to him as a minister and a colleague professionally is, absolutely, stay on," Miller said when asked about Trudeau's future.
But he didn't mince words about the stinging defeat, saying it was a bitter loss that should lead to some serious "introspection."
"Let's not minimize this loss. I think a lot of us have to step back, give our heads a shake, screw it on a little better. Stop the navel-gazing and get back on the horse and fight for Canadians," he told reporters at an announcement in Montreal.
To address caucus anxiety after the Conservative win in Toronto, officials from the Prime Minister's Office called some Liberal MPs Tuesday to get feedback on the party's direction and listen to how parliamentarians are feeling, sources told Radio-Canada, CBC's French-language service.
Trudeau himself did not make those calls, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to speak publicly.
Miller said voters' frustration with the government is natural after nearly nine years in office.
Rightly or wrongly, he said, Trudeau and the Liberals are being blamed for all of the country's woes.
To build back its standing among Canadians, Miller said the government needs to redouble its efforts to address the affordability crisis that has driven up the price of just about everything and frustrated younger voters' hopes of home ownership.
"That is something we need to focus squarely on," he said.
The government also needs to draw sharper contrasts with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Miller said.
The Montreal minister said Poilievre is a negative leader who's "peddling" a style of politics that is reminiscent of populist right-wing leaders in the U.S.
Miller has taken public swipes at Poilievre in the past. He's described the opposition leader as a "charlatan" and a "snake oil salesman."
On Wednesday, Miller called the Conservative leader a "fake" and compared him to "a wrestling manager from the '80s," saying he relies on sloganeering and theatrics to score political points.
"He's imported it from the south with his own style and it works for him. But it's not a WWF match, this is reality. Canadians are suffering and we need to fight for them," he said.
Poilievre has in turn been highly critical of the government's handling of the immigration file.
Statistics Canada data shows the country has added more than a million people over the last year at a time when housing supply is constrained and access to health care is limited in some areas.
In an interview with the French-language broadcaster TVA last week, Poilievre said immigration levels will be "much lower" under a government led by him.
"It's impossible to invite 1.2 million new people to Canada every year. When you're building 200,000 housing units, it's impossible. There's no room. Quebec is at its breaking point," he said.
Don Stewart, the Conservative candidate who won Monday's byelection, released a video through social media saying he's "beyond humbled" to be headed to Ottawa to represent Toronto-St. Paul's.
Echoing his leader, Stewart said he's ready to join Poilievre's team and the fight to "axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime."
Miller said the government is holding out hope that Canadians will eventually tire of Poilievre and his approach.
"Canadians are pretty good bullshit detectors and they know when they're being bullshitted. Over the course of the year, people will realize that," he said.
In an interview with CBC's Power & Politics, Health Minister Mark Holland downplayed the Conservative victory in Toronto. He said it's "easy" to win a byelection when you don't have to come up with much of a policy platform — you just have to whip up anger.
"People are upset, for sure. It's a byelection, where there are no consequences to flipping the seat," he said. "Congratulations — that's the easy part.
"When you get into a real election, you're into real choices. In 16 months' time, the real choices get made. Do you choose an angry leader who just points out the problems of the world and has no solutions?"
"Amplifying everybody's anger and pointing out what's wrong — he's a master of that," Holland said of Poilievre. "How are you going to make it better?"
Poilievre has released some policy proposals.
In addition to his promise to tie immigration levels to housing starts, Poilieve also has promised to curb federal spending through a "pay-as-you-go" law that would require the federal government to cut spending when it wants to spend more on something else.
Poilievre has released a housing plan that would claw back federal money from cities that fail to build a certain number of new homes, among other measures.
Poilievre also has said he will work with the provinces and territories to cut "red tape" associated with physician credential recognition to boost the number of foreign-trained doctors working here. Roughly 6.5 million Canadians don't have access to primary care.
He's been noncommittal on keeping some of the new social programs that Holland, as health minister, has rolled out in recent months, like dental care and pharmacare.
But Poilievre has said he'd scrap the government's hard drug "safe supply" policies that are designed to curb opioid-related overdoses. Some community advocates blame the policies for a spike in crime.
Poilievre has promised to tighten criminal sanctions on repeat offenders and possibly invoke the notwithstanding clause to stop courts from overruling what he calls his "jail not bail" proposals.
Mental Health Minister Ya'ara Saks said Wednesday the government will try to restore Canadians' hope in the country's future — and there's no better person in the party to do that than Trudeau.
"He is still the most important leader of a generation to make transformational change in this country. Change is hard. It's not easy. It's messy, it's challenging and I know no other leader who's willing to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and making the changes and shifts that need to be done," Saks said.
Speaking of Poilievre, Saks said it's "easy to stand up and be enraged. It's really easy to stand up and be angry on social media platforms.
"It's really easy to break things. It is really easy to cut things. It's a lot harder to build."
While Holland, Miller and Saks are not fans of Poilievre's style, there are signs that Canadians are embracing the Tory leader as they grow increasingly disillusioned with Trudeau.
Poll after poll suggests Trudeau and his party are out of favour with the vast majority of Canadians.
338 Canada, a poll aggregator, puts Liberal support nationwide at just 24 per cent.
Voters in Toronto-St. Paul's told CBC News throughout the byelection campaign that the government's handling of the housing crisis, inflation and the Israel-Hamas conflict were sore spots.
But it wasn't just about the issues — a number of voters expressed a desire for change and fatigue with Trudeau.
Even past and current Liberal supporters told CBC News Trudeau should resign as leader if the party lost this formerly rock-solid Liberal seat.
Trudeau has given no indication he's stepping down.
He said Monday's loss was "obviously not the result we wanted" and vowed to regroup.
"I want to be clear that I hear your concerns and frustrations," he said.
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