The hidden, important role of party caucuses

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2024 (491 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tracking low in the polls for two years, having lost the recent byelection in the Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul’s, and seemingly headed to defeat in the 2025 general election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has so far resisted calls for an emergency meeting of the national parliamentary caucus of all elected Liberal MPs.

Instead, he has begun calling them individually to discuss how the party can recover politically with him as leader.

Party caucuses are little studied and are not well understood by most members of the general public. Based on my three past studies of national party caucuses, involving interviews with hundreds of MPs, I have concluded that caucuses play a mostly hidden but important role in the parliamentary and wider political processes.

Most MPs see Parliament as an arena for a clash of opposing teams. The pervasiveness of the metaphor of team play means party loyalty, more than discipline based on rewards and penalties, accounts for MPs voting mainly along party lines. Defending the party’s position in a parliamentary process has come to resemble a permanent election campaign.

For all parties, the weekly confidential meetings of caucuses are more than pep rallies used by leaders to motivate the party team. Caucuses seldom initiate policy, but they often set vague parameters on the range and scope of acceptable policies. They do this by serving as sounding boards, helping leaders to stay in touch with public opinion across the country.

They can also influence short-term political strategies and tactics. Especially when a party is struggling politically, caucuses can hold leaders to account.

The internal dynamics of caucuses vary, depending in part on whether a party is in or out of power. There is always more diversity of opinion inside of caucuses than the outward image of unity suggests. In opposition, the party leader has fewer perks and penalties to encourage solidarity and to deal with rogue MPs.

A narrow majority in the Commons or a minority for the governing party potentially increases caucus influence. Under the supply agreement with the NDP that has kept the minority Liberal government afloat, there has been greater pressure on the leadership team to keep caucus informed, and on MPs to follow their directions so as to avoid an unwanted election.

Historically, open caucus revolts against a prime minister or premier have been relatively rare in Canada, compared to in other cabinet/parliamentary systems such as the U.K. and Australia. The greater concentration of power in the office of the first minister in Canada is the main reason why cabinet and caucus revolts have been less common here, but that has begun to change in the past three or four decades.

Rules, structures and procedures for caucus operations are another factor which shapes their influence. In 2014, when the Harper Conservatives were in power, Parliament passed the Reform Act, aimed at granting MPs more independence, in part by creating rules regarding the removal of a party leader, the election/removal of a caucus chair and/or the expulsion/re-admission of caucus members.

However, these rules only apply if a party caucus adopts them at the beginning of the first session after an election. Under Trudeau, the Liberal caucus has not adopted the rules, whereas the opposition Conservatives have done so. The rule on leadership replacement was used to drop Erin O’Toole after the Conservatives lost the 2021 election.

Some leaders are more skilful than others in maintaining positive relationships with caucus. Media reports suggest Trudeau does not make a serious effort to develop relationships with caucus members. His poor management of caucus relations was evident during the 2019 SNC-Lavalin controversy; eventually, two female former cabinet ministers who had dissented publicly were expelled from caucus by Trudeau.

Without an upswing in Liberal polling numbers, cajoling by Trudeau will not be enough to stave off growing caucus dissent. There will likely have to be new policies, changes to cabinet, replacement of some key advisers and a focus on the risks of a Poilievre government … as well as some political luck.

Leaders of governing parties at the provincial level were once thought to be virtually invincible. Recently, however, caucuses have shown a greater willingness to challenge leaders. We saw this in Manitoba in 2015 when an open revolt by five cabinet ministers against the NDP premier came close to ousting Greg Selinger as leader. According to media reports, in 2021 pressure from the Progressive Conservative caucus pushed unpopular premier Brian Pallister to resign.

We need careful case studies of how caucuses operate at the provincial level. I am prepared to do one for Manitoba; all I need is for the parties to agree to confidential interviews about what happens behind closed doors.

Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.