‘We need to show Canadians what’s next,’ Trudeau’s House leader says of fall Liberal strategy

Heading into the fall still struggling in the polls, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberal caucus “need to show Canadians what’s next,” says Government House Leader Karina Gould.

The latest weekly Nanos tracking shows the Conservatives holding a 15-point advantage over the Liberals, with more Canadians saying they’d prefer Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as prime minister. 

Absent taking a page from the U.S. Democrat’s recent playbook and replacing their leader – a prospect cabinet ministers have rebuffed – Gould was asked by reporters at the cabinet retreat in Halifax, how the Liberals plan to address the electorate’s appetite for change. 

“The question is, what is the change that Canadians are looking for?” Gould said.

The minister said she’s heard from constituents that they don’t want to see Liberal-initiated social supports such as child-care and dental-care change – a prospect she said voters are concerned could be on the table with a Conservative government.

Instead, she said, she sees her party’s path towards re-election through taking new steps to address Canadians’ outstanding “feeling of unease” when it comes to the cost of living, and better selling their policies.

“We’ve been in government for nine years, that’s a long time, and we’ve done a lot in that period of time,” Gould said. “But now, we need to show Canadians what’s next.”

Over the last few days, Trudeau has been huddled with his roster of ministers to make policy decisions and plot out political strategy ahead of returning to Parliament in mid-September.

Next week, he’s off to Nanaimo, B.C. to expand those conversations with his entire caucus of MPs, where Gould said they’ll further hash-out how to respond to what they’ve heard from Canadians this summer.

“Progressive voters are looking for that continued hope, right? That continued ability to make progress, advance how we are building an inclusive and progressive society and economy,” Gould said. “What our job as Liberals is to demonstrate to Canadians that that’s the path that we’re on, and that’s the path that we must continue on.”

Speaking to CTV News in Halifax yesterday, Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman characterized the Liberals’ approach and recent immigration and housing policy announcements as “more of the same.”

More of the same could also be how the House of Commons dynamics are shaping up heading into the fall, with Gould telling reporters that the minority Liberals remain “fairly confident” the supply-and-confidence agreement with the New Democrats will hold through to the mutually-agreed-upon expiry date.

The Liberal-NDP pact is designed to keep the Trudeau government in power until the end of the current Parliament, in exchange for progress on longstanding NDP priorities. Since the deal was signed in 2022, the federal government has implemented a series of progressive policies, from an anti-scab law to the first phase of national pharmacare.

“We have some things that are still left in the SACA [supply-and-confidence agreement] to move forward on. Of course, we’re going to keep pushing in that direction,” Gould said. “That agreement is a good agreement, it’s a strong agreement, and we’ll get to the end of June.”