Liberal caucus chairs to talk Trudeau today, PM chairing Canada-U.S. cabinet meeting: sources

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is back in Ottawa today, but with him yet to signal he’s ready to address the snowballing resignation calls, the Liberal caucus’ regional chairs have called a meeting today to discuss next steps.

Sources confirm to CTV News that the chairs for the party’s regional caucus are meeting virtually today at 3 p.m. EST.

During the call, the national caucus chair Brenda Shanahan is expected to be asked to consider calling a meeting of all Liberal MPs. Some want the prime minister to be presented with a more formal push for his resignation, or to at least put a timeline on deciding on whether he intends to stay on as party leader.

This meeting comes after calls for Trudeau to step down grew over the holidays from caucus members across the country. Liberals are also contemplating the party’s leadership rules and the kinds of preparations needed for a potentially expedited race.

Trudeau, after a week out west with his family, is not expected to be part of this meeting. However, he is expected to virtually chair a meeting of the Canada-U.S. cabinet committee this afternoon, according to sources.

The meeting of ministers who are tasked with managing relations with the incoming Donald Trump administration is expected to include some discussion of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly’s meeting at Mar-a-Lago last week.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

With files from CTV News’ Judy Trinh, Vassy Kapelos, and Stephanie Ha