Liberal national caucus chair shuts down request by MPs for summer meeting over byelection loss
Brenda Shanahan tells colleagues via email that a summer meeting is 'impossible'
The Liberal Party's caucus chair Brenda Shanahan told MPs late Thursday that a full caucus meeting is "impossible" this summer due to "scheduling logistics," despite a flurry of requests from parliamentarians after a shocking byelection loss in a Toronto-area riding.
"Nevertheless, we will continue the conversations this summer about the changes you and Canadians want to see," Shanahan said in an email to colleagues that was obtained by CBC News.
Moreover, Shanahan said, "private individual and group meetings with members of our Liberal team have already begun and will continue as we prepare for our retreat this September."
On Thursday afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters that some members of the Liberal Party's Toronto caucus had met in her backyard recently to discuss the byelection results.
Multiple MPs, publicly and privately, have called for a full Liberal caucus meeting after the party lost a byelection to the Conservatives in Toronto-St. Paul's, a Liberal stronghold for more than 30 years.
Newfoundland and Labrador MP Ken McDonald told CBC's Power & Politics on Tuesday that such a gathering would "allow everybody to speak their mind with no repercussions, because the conversations might be difficult at times."
Likewise, George Chahal, a Liberal MP for Calgary Skyview, informed colleagues last Friday by email that he co-signed a letter to Shanahan requesting an in-person meeting in Ottawa.
"This was a race the Liberal Party of Canada should not have lost," Chahal's message to Shanahan read. "The residents of Toronto-St. Paul's were clear in sending a message."
Chahal said eight other MPs co-signed the letter. He said he would leave it to them to identify themselves.
In his first news conference since the byelection on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he's "engaging" with MPs individually, but did not commit to an in-person meeting with his entire caucus.
"I've had lots of calls with different members of caucus from across the country, not just in the [Greater Toronto Area], 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.
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With files from Ashley Burke, Peter Zimonjic