The minority Liberals are returning to a precarious position in the House of Commons, having lost the automatic support of the New Democratic Party, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is currently grappling with an exodus of senior staff.

According to six Liberal sources who each confirmed some of the names of those leaving, five of his 38 ministers are losing their chiefs of staff in quick succession, with several already gone. These chiefs of staff include the top advisers at Global Affairs, Heritage, Environment, National Revenue, and Mental Health and Addictions.

According to the sources, a number of employees had been contemplating their departures for months, while others had been entertaining the idea for an extended period before ultimately making the decision. Some of the sources stated that five out of 38 is a significant decrease, despite the fact that the Liberals have frequently encountered turnover among their ministerial staff since assuming office in 2015.

The Globe and Mail is refraining from disclosing the sources due to their inability to disclose an internal staffing change.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office downplayed the importance of the departures. Hundreds of political personnel are responsible for providing support to our government, cabinet ministers, and members of Parliament. Turnover is a typical aspect of the employment process for the personnel who perform this critical function, according to Mohammad Hussain, the press secretary for the PMO.

Trudeau’s loss of its top executive

Peter Wilkinson, the director of staff to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, is departing the office less than two years after his appointment. Senior staff member Jamie Kippen, who has served as the chief of staff to Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault for an extended period, has already completed his final day. Jude Welch, the director of staff for Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, has already departed.

Sarah Welch, the chief for Ya’ara Saks, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Frédérique Tsai-Klassen, the chief to Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau, are also departing. According to the sources, the majority of the senior staff who are departing do not currently have a position lined up. However, they are eligible for severance payments that are calculated based on their years of service.

The party’s loss of its top executive, national campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst, a prominent senior Liberal for the past two decades, coincides with the exodus of top staff in ministerial offices. He was previously the national campaign director in 2019 and a senior adviser in the PMO before returning to the party last year.

Mr. Broadhurst tendered his resignation on Thursday, mere days prior to Mr. Trudeau’s scheduled meeting with his caucus in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Three Members of Parliament informed The Globe that they are anticipating the Prime Minister’s presentation of a credible strategy to regain the support of Canadian electors.

Senior staff members have resigned

According to two senior officials, it is unlikely that Mr. Trudeau will designate a replacement for Mr. Broadhurst at the caucus meeting. Nevertheless, an official in the PMO stated that the caucus will be provided with a comprehensive roadmap for the upcoming election. The two officials who were prohibited from disclosing the internal planning are not being identified by The Globe and Mail.

In addition to the anticipated resignation of Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez and the departure of Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan in July, all of the senior staff members have resigned.

Mr. O’Regan was a significant political ally of Mr. Trudeau. Mr. Rodriguez is anticipated to declare his departure from the federal Liberals in order to participate in the provincial party’s leadership race, as he currently occupies the most significant political position in Quebec for the government.

“I believe it is a sign of the end of government,” Lori Turnbull, chair of the public and international affairs department at Dalhousie University told the Globe and Mail. She said senior staff members are aware that their departures will only exacerbate the perception and reality of the current state of Trudeau and the government.”

“There is a perception that the Trudeau government has reached its conclusion and that the upcoming election will result in a loss.” The departure of senior staff indicates that even those who are committed to Team Trudeau can perceive the impending doom.

“It raises the question of whether we would witness the same departures in the event that a new leader were selected,” she continued.

The second-in-commands for each office have already been appointed to numerous top-level positions; however, the most critical position at Global Affairs has yet to be permanently replaced.

As of Sunday, Alexandre Boulé has assumed the role of interim chief for Ms. Joly, according to her office. In the interim, deputy chief of staff Joanna Dafoe will succeed Mr Kippen at Environment, and deputy Michael Lartigau will succeed Mr Welch at Heritage.

Marianne Dandurand has succeeded Ms. Tsai-Klassen as the superintendent of National Revenue.

The office announced on Sunday that the position of chief to the Mental Health and Addictions minister is still vacant.

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Trudeau Courts Canadian Separatists Party to Stay in Power

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Just days after Canada’s NDP party cut ties with Canada’s liberal party Justin Trudeau has approached the Bloc Quebecois a Canadian separatists party to maintain his grip on power in Canada. Trudeau is facing pressure to resign as nearly 78 Percent of Canadians disapprove of his leadership.

The Bloc Quebecois expressed its willingness to collaborate with the Liberals in order to secure support during confidence ballots in the wake of the supply and confidence agreement with the NDP expiring on Sunday. The BQ has formulated a list of demands in response.

Bloc House Leader Alain Therrien expressed his satisfaction that his party has regained its balance of power in the House at Trudeau’s expense in an interview conducted prior to Monday’s party caucus retreat in the Outaouais region.

He referred to the circumstance as a “window of opportunity” now that the Liberals are genuine minority government.

In the interim, Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta has explicitly stated that she does not wish for the Liberals to join forces with the Bloc Quebecois in order to preserve their position of authority.

Although the Liberals may collaborate with the Bloc Quebecois, Smith stated that it “does not have a mandate to negotiate with Quebec separatists at the expense of Alberta, the West, and the rest of the country.”.

The federal government does not have a mandate to bargain with Quebec separatists at the expense of Alberta, the West and the rest of the country. If the Liberals go down this path we need an election to be called immediately.

— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) September 9, 2024

Smith tweeted on Monday, ““If the Liberals go down this path, we need an election to be called immediately”.

The NDP has expressed its willingness to contemplate supporting Trudeau on a “vote-by-vote basis,” while the Conservatives have promised to introduce a motion of no confidence in the current government.

Despite the fact that Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have pledged to hold numerous confidence votes in order to precipitate a general election, the Bloc’s approach is to leverage their newly acquired status to achieve what they perceive as significant benefits for Quebec.

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Justin Trudeau Faces an Uncertain Political Future

Justin Trudeau Faces an Uncertain Political Future

The federal judge supervising former President Trump’s case in the aftermath of the 2020 election spelled out the timeline for the prosecution’s next actions following the Supreme Court’s declaration that Trump is immune for “official acts.”

Hours after the two parties met in her courtroom earlier Thursday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order that generally supported special counsel Jack Smith’s timing proposal.

Former President Trump faces four counts in connection with his alleged efforts to alter election results, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. Trump pleaded not guilty to the allegations again, but waived his appearance in court on Thursday CBS News reported.

The judge’s order rejects Trump’s lawyers’ proposed timeline for extending pretrial hearings into the spring or fall of 2025, well beyond the November presidential election.

Smith and his team had pushed for immunity conversations to take place alongside motions and other matters raised by the former president’s legal team.

Chutkan ordered federal prosecutors to send over all necessary information to Trump’s team by September 10, and Smith’s team had until September 26 to submit an opening brief detailing their views on presidential immunity. Smith’s prosecutors stated in court Thursday that the immunity motion will include fresh material not found in the indictment. Chutkan’s order allows the material to become public before the November election.

The judge set an Oct. 17 deadline for Trump’s team to respond to the special counsel’s claims and file their own motion to dismiss the indictment on immunity grounds. The administration will then have until October 29 to submit their response.

Chutkan stated in her two-page order that once the filings on the immunity issue are received, she will determine whether additional proceedings are required.

The judge also ordered Trump’s lawyers to file a petition by September 19 that includes “any specific evidence related to presidential immunity” that the former president feels prosecutors wrongfully concealed.

The decision also indicates that Trump has until October 24 to petition the court to enable him to file a move to dismiss the case based on accusations that Smith’s appointment and financing are unconstitutional. The special counsel’s team has until October 31 to file documents contesting this request.

The criminal case in Washington, DC, had been delayed several times as courts considered Trump’s immunity from prosecution. From 2017 to 2021, Trump claimed “absolute” immunity for any actions he took as president.

On July 1, the Supreme Court delivered a ruling denying any claims to absolute immunity while allowing extensive “presumptive immunity” to any “official” activities the president may take.

The ruling did not specify what constitutes a “official” or “unofficial” activity, but it implied that conversations with government officials, such as the vice president, would be exempt from prosecution.

As a result, the verdict was interpreted as expanding presidential power beyond what the US Constitution allows.

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