MP Ken McDonald walks back his comments that Liberals need a leadership review

Liberal MP Ken McDonald has done an about-face on comments to a Radio-Canada reporter this week when he said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be subject to a leadership review.

In a statement sent Thursday morning, McDonald walked back his comments, insisting he wasn't calling for a leadership review.

«The intent of my recent public comments was not to personally call for a leadership review, and I am not calling for one now,» said McDonald, the member of Parliament for Newfoundland's Avalon riding.

Despite his statement Thursday, McDonald was clear in his comments to Radio-Canada reporter Laurence Martin in a recent interview that he wanted to see a leadership review, and that he wasn't sure if Trudeau was the right leader for the party heading into the next election.

«The government now of today is getting to be an old government,» McDonald said in the interview, published Wednesday. «People are thinking maybe it's time for a change. I tell everybody: every leader, every party has a best-before date. Our best-before date is here. So we either have to change things up in a way to make people think we're new again, or we're able to do better going forward. But that's not something I have control of.»

«You seem to suggest that there needs to be some sort of a shakeup, like maybe a leadership shakeup or something?» Martin asked.

«Even a leadership review, right? Like—» said McDonald.

«You want a leadership review?» asked Martin.

«A leadership review,» continued McDonald. «Normally, in most circumstances in politics and especially in the federal government, if you go from a majority government to a minority government, there's supposed to be a leadership review. That hasn't happened. And we went in a minority in 2019 … and