WINNIPEG—Fresh off a majority mandate and the first months in government, Liberal party stalwarts are gathering in Winnipeg for what is expected to be a celebratory weekend with little controversy.

The Liberals are holding their biennial policy convention in Winnipeg Thursday through Saturday, the first gathering of party faithful since Justin Trudeau led the party from third-place opposition to a commanding majority government.

The convention will take place in the context of the Liberals enjoying a comfortable lead in recent public opinion polling, while their main opposition parties remain in search of new leadership.

For the Conservatives, that search begins in earnest at a convention in Vancouver this weekend. For the New Democrats — who after an unprecedented vote decided to oust leader Thomas Mulcair at their convention in Edmonton last month — the vote for a new leader will wait until the fall of 2017.

Trudeau will address the crowd in a keynote speech Saturday afternoon, after returning from G7 meetings in Japan. Thursday and Friday will be devoted mainly to strategy sessions for party activists on everything from the environment to democratic reform to reading the tea leaves after last October’s federal election.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will also deliver a speech, as will three Atlantic Canadian premiers — all Liberal, presiding over a region of the country that was completely swept by their federal counterparts last October.

The largest — and potentially most controversial — proposal at the policy convention comes from Trudeau’s team. The prime minister has put forward a sweeping proposal to overhaul the Liberal party’s constitution, streamlining the party’s operations and, a number of observers note, centralizing more power in the party’s higher-ups.

“Perhaps most importantly, this new constitution modernizes our movement to win in 2019 — by unifying the party under one streamlined constitution and party structure, while strongly supporting the regional voices and local organizing that have helped us effectively engage Canadians and their ideas,” Trudeau wrote in an open letter to members.

The changes would eliminate the $10 fee for becoming a card-carrying Liberal, gives the national board of directors more flexibility, and casts aside old rules that Trudeau’s team call arcane and suggest no longer serve their intended purpose.

That vote will take place Saturday afternoon, just after Trudeau addresses the crowd, which leaves plenty of time for backroom arm-twisting for members who may have misgivings about the new structure.

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