Liberals form united front after divided summer

Liberal MPs will have one last chance to tell their leader how they think their party can improve its political prospects before they return to Ottawa to take on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons.

The three-day retreat in Nanaimo, British Columbia, was the first chance for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s team to address him as a group since losing a long-held Liberal constituency in Toronto to Poilievre’s Conservatives.

The loss led to a divided summer and the meeting was mainly focused on reuniting the party and focusing attention on the Tories.

Despite the grumbling before the withdrawal, Liberals who spoke publicly on the sidelines of the meetings have so far been positive about their approach to the upcoming election year.

The prime minister is expected to answer questions about the closed meetings today before MPs disperse.

They will reconvene in Ottawa on Monday for the start of the fall session, where they will immediately face their next test: a hotly contested byelection in another constituency that has long been Liberal-held.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.