(Bloomberg) — A group of lawmakers within Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ruling Liberal party is organizing to pressure him to resign, according to news reports.
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MPs held meetings in the capital Ottawa this week and were asked to sign a document pledging to work together to advocate for a change in leadership, according to a report Friday from CBC News, which quoted people who were not identified. According to CBC, “at least” twenty MPs have signed the document.
The alleged move comes as lawmakers return to parliament after damaging by-election losses for the Liberals in Montreal and Toronto, and while Trudeau, who has led Canada since 2015, and his chief of staff were out of the country for a summit in Asia.
An earlier article on Friday from the Toronto Star described an attempt to publicly pressure Trudeau, 52, to resign, citing people who were not identified.
“At least 30 to 40 MPs” are ready to sign a letter, the newspaper reports.
Yet the number of dissenting MPs mentioned in the reports may not be enough for a critical mass. The Liberal Party has 153 seats in Canada’s House of Commons.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trade Minister Mary Ng, who is traveling back to Canada from Laos with Trudeau, said she was disappointed when she read about MPs’ plan and that she has full confidence in the prime minister, the Canadian Press reported.
In September, a parliamentary pact with another party that kept Trudeau in power collapsed. Later that month, he survived an attempt by the opposition Conservative Party to force an election.
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