Cabinet minister tells Liberals to 'change their attitude' as MPs return to Commons

A cabinet minister who serves as the federal Liberals' national campaign co-chair told MPs at the party's recent caucus retreat that they need to "change their attitudes" if they want to turn around their dismal polling numbers, sources tell CBC News.

More than half-a-dozen Liberal MPs asked CBC News for confidentiality in order to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the recent two-day caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C.

Three of them said Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada, national campaign co-chair, told them during her presentation that if they "want something to change" in their political prospects, they should change their "attitudes" first.

Two of those three MPs said the comment was poorly received by caucus members in the room. One said the statement was particularly galling because backbench MPs have been bearing the brunt of voters' dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government.

"To come in there and scold MPs is really out of place," the MP said.

A third MP, meanwhile, said they were not bothered by Ferrada's message.

"Recognizing that one's attitude plays a role in [public] perception" is a valid point, the MP said.

Sources said that Quebec Liberal MP Alexandra Mendès — who recently told multiple media outlets that voters in her riding want Trudeau to step down — did not air her views at the meeting.

Before the retreat began, Mendès told Radio-Canada that she would be expressing her constituents' views to her caucus colleagues in Nanaimo.

"It's a very generalized …'We're tired of his face' kind of thing," she told Power & Politics.

Mendès confirmed to CBC News that she never raised the issue behind closed doors.

"During Quebec caucus, other matters were more pressing and we only had an hour," she said in an email.

Mendès said she had to leave the caucus gathering Wednesday morning before the Q&A session.

All the MPs who spoke to CBC News said representatives of Trudeau's office and the party leadership in Nanaimo wanted to assure caucus they have a plan for when MPs return to Parliament this week. They said the overall mood at the meeting was positive.

The MPs said the plan presented to them had three parts: House of Commons strategy, policy and communications. 

MPs said the communications section of the plan was presented to caucus by Max Valiquette, an executive director of communications hired by Prime Minister Trudeau in November 2023, months after polls started showing the Liberals trailing far behind the Conservatives in voter intentions.

Three MPs said that while the plan pitched stronger messaging to push back against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, they were not told when the party would start releasing new ads.

By the second day of the retreat, one MP said, "there were hardly any questions about what are we going to do and what should change."

That MP also said that during the retreat, Trudeau and his team acknowledged the negative public perceptions of the government.

Another MP said Valiquette told caucus during his presentation that Canadians are feeling more positive about government policies — although they weren't sure where the data supporting the claim was coming from.