Liberal MP says her constituents are 'very adamant' Justin Trudeau needs to go

Quebec Liberal MP Alexandra Mendes said Monday she's heard from «dozens and dozens» of constituents over the summer telling her it's time for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step aside after nearly nine years at the top.

Speaking to Radio-Canada, CBC's French-language service, on the sidelines of the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., Mendes said her constituents are «very adamant the prime minister needs to go.»

She said while she's personally fine with Trudeau staying on as prime minister, «my constituents do not see Mr. Trudeau as the person who should lead the party into the next election, and that's the message that I carry.»

«I didn't hear it from two, three people. I heard it from dozens and dozens of people,» Mendes said. «He's no longer the right leader.»

Mendes is one of a small number of Liberal MPs who have been willing to speak out publicly about ongoing dissatisfaction with Trudeau and his leadership.

Asked if she thinks the party would be better off with Trudeau gone, Mendes said: «Yes, that's what I would deduct from all the comments that I heard.

»It's not the Liberal Party per se that is the cause. It's really the leadership of the prime minister."

Mendes is a long-time Liberal.

After working for a federal Liberal cabinet minister, Mendes was elected as an MP in 2008 representing Montreal's south shore. She lost to an NDP candidate in the Orange Wave that swept over Quebec in the 2011 election.

After that defeat, she served in a senior party role as president of the Quebec chapter of the Liberal Party of Canada. She was returned to Parliament in the 2015 campaign and has served ever since.

Mendes said it «saddens» her to hear the anti-Trudeau sentiment.

«It saddens me that the prime minister isn't being