Christy Clark, the former premier of British Columbia, attends the U.S.-Canada Summit, in Toronto on June 11.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Former B.C. premier Christy Clark says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to be replaced and suggested MPs begin having private conversations with the Liberal Leader about the party’s electoral prospects if he stays on.
In an interview with The Globe and Mail Thursday, Ms. Clark said Monday’s by-election loss in Toronto-St. Paul’s is a sign for the Prime Minister that the Liberal Party needs a change.
“I think the Leader needs to be replaced,” she said. “I think it’s time for him to move on to other, fairer pastures.”
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Since last summer, Mr. Trudeau and the Liberals have been trailing the Conservatives by double digits in national polling. Amid the voter malaise the Prime Minister has insisted that he will stay on to lead the party into a fourth general election. But after the party’s unexpected loss of a seat it held for three decades, the pressure on Mr. Trudeau to change his plans has increased markedly.
Ms. Clark said the stunning upset is a pronouncement on the Leader rather than the party. Given that the Liberals held the seat under much less popular leaders like Michael Ignatieff and Stéphane Dion, she said the message from voters is that “they don’t want the leadership of the party.”
“When parties start losing ridings like this one, that are really at the heart of their strength, it’s tough to make the argument that there doesn’t need to be change at the top,” Ms. Clark said.
Beyond the leadership change, the former premier said the party needs to change its focus and lay out an economic agenda.
”This government hasn’t been focused on economic growth, we’re sliding back in our standard of living,” she said. “The Liberal Party of Canada has to get back to being a party of job creation and of fatter wallets for Canadians.”
She said that’s what the Liberal Party was about under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and subsequent prime minister Paul Martin, and that people from that generation “want our party back.”
Ms. Clark worked on Mr. Chrétien’s 1990 leadership campaign, and again on his 1993 election. She then joined the government as a staffer.
Ms. Clark has been rumoured to be considering a federal leadership run but on Thursday said at the moment she’s not planning to run federally and noted that the position isn’t open. However, she added that she knows people want her to run.
Ms. Clark was the premier of B.C. from 2011 to 2017. In 2013 she led a remarkable comeback victory over the NDP. But despite her own long-shot election win, she said she doesn’t see the same possibility for the Liberals under Mr. Trudeau. To secure such a victory, she said governments need to be meeting or exceeding expectations and she noted that she had only been premier for two years in the 2013 provincial race.
“At the moment, I don’t think the Liberals have a fighting chance,” she said. “If there’s no change, then it’s not going to get better.”
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She said Liberal MPs “need to be thinking about the bigger picture for our party” and said they could start by having private conversations with Mr. Trudeau “about whether or not they think he continues to be an asset to our party.”
However, prior to Ms. Clark’s interview, none of the Liberals that the Globe spoke with this week believed an internal revolt was in the offing. Some MPs expressed personal loyalty to Mr. Trudeau this week, even as they acknowledged that the loss of a stronghold signalled their own seats were even more at risk. And for months Liberals have said if the Prime Minister quits it will be on his own accord.
John O’Leary, a former senior staffer in the Trudeau government and now vice president at Crestview Strategy, said it is clear the Prime Minister and his team view the by-election result as a significant setback.
Mr. O’Leary said he believes Mr. Trudeau can continue as leader but he will need to shift more firmly into campaign mode. He said that should include increased spending on advertising, more fundraising, listening to Canadians, and drawing sharper contrasts with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
“He hasn’t lost an election yet. But there’s no question that this is a serious moment for the party, and for Liberals,” Mr. O’Leary said.
“For the Prime Minister to be successful, now’s the time to fight hard, which includes not only telling his positive message, but drawing a sharp contrast with the alternative.”