Liberal MPs gather in B.C. to confront a new political landscape

In early July, as the Liberal caucus was still reeling from the party's unexpected byelection loss in Toronto-St. Paul's, Liberal caucus chair Brenda Shanahan dismissed calls for a special meeting of Liberal MPs to discuss the state of the party and the government.

Such a meeting was not possible, Shanahan told MPs, due to "scheduling logistics."

Two months later, Liberal MPs will get their meeting. They're gathering in Nanaimo, B.C. for their annual summer caucus retreat ahead of Parliament's fall sitting.

Back in July, the talk in Liberal Party circles was about what might need to change. And the last two months might be measured by what has and has not changed.

While questions were raised about Justin Trudeau's leadership in the wake of Toronto-St. Paul's, Trudeau remains the prime minister. Scattered calls for his resignation that threatened to snowball in early July ultimately petered out.

Despite widespread speculation in the chat rooms and restaurant booths of Ottawa, a major cabinet shuffle failed to materialize. In mid-July, Steven MacKinnon was moved over to the labour ministry to fill a vacancy created by Seamus O'Regan's departure. Karina Gould has resumed her duties as House leader after her maternity leave. Otherwise, the cabinet Trudeau started the summer with remains unchanged.

One potential new wrinkle is the possible involvement of Mark Carney. The former governor of both the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, who has been an object of fascination in political circles for years, is expected to be in Nanaimo, though there is no official confirmation of what he will be doing while he's there.

Another thing that hasn't changed is the Liberal Party's position in opinion polls. On June 30, 338Canada's