Liberal MPs gather for first time since Trudeau announced his resignation plans

Liberal MPs are meeting in Ottawa today for the first time since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he will step down.

The national caucus meeting, set to take place both in person and online, was originally set to last six hours to give MPs time to discuss Trudeau's previous refusal to resign. Now, the focus will be on next steps for the party as it begins a national search for a leader who can hold their own against popular Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Some from the party caucus, including cabinet ministers Jonathan Wilkinson, Steven MacKinnon and Karina Gould, are fielding calls from members of the party rank-and-file and seriously considering leadership bids.

Others including Chrystia Freeland, Anita Anand and Francois-Philippe Champagne are making their own rounds with other MPs and party members to suss out possible support. Top Liberal brass are also gathering behind closed doors all week. The national party board has to assemble a leadership vote committee to organize and set rules for the coming race. Those rules could take days to produce once the committee is struck.