Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks to a meeting room after speaking to reporters at the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

charting a path forward

‘Make sure Canadians are being supported:’ Trudeau speaks on final day of Nanaimo caucus meetings

Sep 11, 2024 | 10:36 AM

NANAIMO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s excited to return to Ottawa and “get into it” with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

Trudeau made the comments at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in Nanaimo, on the third day of the Liberal caucus retreat.

Meetings marked the first chance for Trudeau to address his MPs as a group since they lost a long-held Liberal riding in Toronto to the Conservatives.

“Conversations here in Nanaimo have been focused on the things we need to continue to do. To invest in Canadians because confident countries invest in their workers, invest in their people, invest in the future and that’s exactly what we’re going to keep doing.”

The byelection loss led to a fractious summer, and the focus of the gathering has been to reunite the party and turn their focus to the Tories.

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Trudeau said there is a diversity of opinions within the caucus about the party’s approach and even about his leadership, but he maintained that he’s focused on the things his government is doing for Canadians.

“In a democracy, people will have all sorts of different perspectives and it’s important we have that including within the Liberal Party,” Trudeau told reporters. “The reality is all of us are focused on what to do to make sure Canadians are being supported, are feeling confident on their future, getting the housing they need or getting the school food for their kids, breaks on groceries.”

The Liberals will face their next test in just a few days with two more critical byelections in Montreal and Winnipeg.

Trudeau said people in those byelections, and in the next national election, will have to choose between Poilievre’s plan to cut services and the Liberal plan to invest in Canada.

The three-day set of meetings in Nanaimo has been met for sporadic protests outside the venue, along Museum Way and Gordon St.

Groups opposing Trudeau’s leadership, representing environmental advocacy groups as well as pro-Palestinian protesters have all taken time to display banners outside.

Meetings have taken place largely behind closed doors, with MP’s emerging occasionally to speak with the public or reporters standing by.

Mostly small groups of protesters have waved flags, chanted and otherwise expressed their disatisfaction with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the government during three days of meetings in Nanaimo. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

–with files from The Canadian Press

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