As Trudeau signals he’s staying on, one MP says some incumbents could sit out the next election

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to signal he’s staying on as Liberal leader after last week’s surprise Conservative win in the Toronto–St. Paul’s byelection, one Liberal MP is telling CBC News some caucus members are thinking about calling it quits if he stays.

The MP — who spoke to CBC News on the condition of anonymity in order to speak frankly about caucus dynamics — said a number of Liberal MPs are considering not running again if Trudeau remains leader.

The MP said some caucus colleagues believe Trudeau is too unpopular with Canadians and his continued leadership would result in a major loss for the party in the next federal election, expected in 2025. 

“The prime minister’s leadership is damaged beyond repair at this point and the population just doesn’t have time for him anymore,” said the MP.

In his first news conference since the byelection, Trudeau said Wednesday he’s “engaging” with MPs individually but stopped short of committing to an in-person meeting with his entire caucus.

“Last week’s byelection loss, not to sugarcoat it, was challenging, was something we need to take seriously, and we’ve been engaged in lots of important conversations,” Trudeau said in Montréal.

“I’ve had lots of calls with different members of caucus from across the country, not just in the GTA, to talk about how we make sure we’re continuing our work connecting with Canadians, to make sure we’re continuing to deliver for people.”

Trudeau said he has spoken by phone with multiple members of caucus from across the country since the byelection loss.

The unnamed Liberal MP who spoke to CBC News said some caucus members want Trudeau to call every caucus member individually — not just a select few — because many of them are alarmed after losing Toronto–St.Paul’s.

“My view is the prime minister has to begin seriously engaging caucus, something that hasn’t been done since 2015,” the MP said.

“Any good general makes sure his soldiers are appreciated. And caucus members who are soldiers in all this, they’re not feeling that.”

But the Liberal MP for Winnipeg North, Kevin Lamoureux, said he would only run in the next election if Trudeau stays on as leader. 

“I’ve made a commitment to Justin Trudeau to be a candidate in the next election, I’m committed to running as long as he’s the leader,” Lamoureux told CBC News. 

He said he’s not panicking about last week’s byelection loss because of his experience in 2015 when his party was in third place in the…