This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Justin Trudeau is facing fresh criticism for expelling two former ministers from his party, dashing any hopes that a scandal which has dogged his government for nearly two months will disappear any time soon.

The scandal began with allegations of political interference with a corruption investigation, but it has now grown into an all-out crisis for the Liberal party, producing numerous political casualties and casting doubt over Trudeau’s prospects in this autumn’s general election.

On Tuesday evening, Liberal MPs voted to eject former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould and former treasury board president Jane Philpott, citing a lack of confidence in the two women.

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“The trust that had previously existed between these two individuals and our team has been broken,” Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday evening.

But the expulsion of Wilson-Raybould, a Kwakwaka’wakw lawyer and regional chief, and Philpott, a family doctor with extensive experience working in impoverished nations, threatens to tarnish the carefully crafted image of Trudeau and his government.

When he first took power in 2015, Trudeau made a show of producing a gender-balanced cabinet “that looks like Canada” – a position which some have now questioned after his decision to eject two rookie politicians widely viewed as rising stars.

At an event promoting women’s participation in politics on Wednesday, dozens of young women turned their backs on Trudeau as he addressed them in the parliament. Delegates also walked out of a speech by Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.

Play Video 0:19 Women turn their backs on Trudeau as he addresses Daughters of the Vote in parliament - video

Daughters of the Vote, the organization which organized the event, sent Trudeau a stark message: “Respect the integrity of women and indigenous leaders in politics. Do better.”

Liberal MPs, however, saw the two women’s continued presence was increasingly untenable after they both made high-profile criticisms of the prime minister.

“Civil wars within parties are incredibly damaging because they signal to Canadians that we care more about ourselves than we do about them,” Trudeau said on Tuesday. “Our political opponents win when Liberals are divided. We can’t afford to make that mistake.”

The current scandal began when Wilson-Raybould alleged that the prime minister and his aides had pressured her to abandon the prosecution of an engineering company facing criminal charges for bribing Libyan officials.

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Montreal-based SNC Lavalin denies accusations of corruption and bribery to secure lucrative construction contracts. But in February, Wilson-Raybould testified that she came under pressure to reach a civil settlement with the firm.

She said she resisted the pressure out of respect for constitutional norms – and a desire to shield the prime minister from accusations of impropriety. Trudeau has denied any wrongdoing, but has argued that action against SNC Lavalin could jeopardize thousands of jobs.

Amid what she described as “constant and sustained” pressure from Trudeau and his aides, Wilson-Raybould secretly recorded a phone call with the country’s top bureaucrat – a step too far for the prime minister.

“If a politician secretly records a conversation with anyone, it’s wrong,” he said. “When that cabinet minister is the attorney-general of Canada secretly recording the clerk of the privy council, it is unconscionable.”

Wilson-Raybould has defended taping the conversation, although she admits it was an “extraordinary and otherwise inappropriate step”.

Philpott’s undoing came after a bombshell magazine interview, in which she suggested there was more to the scandal that Canadians deserved to hear.

The scandal – which already led the resignation of the former clerk of the privy council, Michael Wernick, and Trudeau’s close adviser Gerald Butts – has also fractured relationships between Trudueau and indigenous Canadians.

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Wilson-Raybould was the first First Nations person to hold the position of attorney general and minister of justice, and her appointment stirred hopes that the government could make good on Trudeau’s promise to renew Canada’s relationship with aboriginal people.

But as the scandal gained pace, Trudeau was forced to apologize for failing to condemn “sexist and racist” slurs directed at his attorney general by anonymous party insiders.

Indigenous leaders have unequivocally condemned Trudeau’s handling of the crisis.

“He’s toast, absolutely toast,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs told Global News following news of Wilson-Raybould’s expulsion.

“Once again he has demonstrated his arrogance and did absolutely the worst thing he could possibly do. There’s going to be an enormous backlash across the country in terms of indigenous people.”

While the government has announced a new budget and environmental policies, the scandal has sucked the air from the national debate and emboldened Trudeau’s opponents.

With an election just six months away, recently polling shows the Liberal party trailing the Conservatives by up to six percentage points.

“By kicking Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott out of the caucus, the Liberals have sent Canadians a clear message: if you tell the truth, there is no room for you in the Liberal party of Canada,” said the Conservatives’ Scheer.