Quebec MP Anthony Housefather remains undecided about his future more than a week after a House of Commons motion on Israel and Gaza left him wondering whether he will remain in the Liberal Party.
And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won’t say whether he’s been talking to Housefather to try to keep him in the fold.
Trudeau dodged the question today, saying only that he has spoken with Housefather many times over the years and is proud to lead a group where multiple points of view are heard and reflected.
Housefather is a lifelong Liberal and has been the party’s MP for Mount Royal since 2015.
But on March 19 he said he was “reflecting” on his future a day after a majority of Liberals supported an NDP motion on Gaza after negotiating major amendments.
Housefather said last-minute amendments without consultation were not the right way forward and that it pained him that some members of his party appeared to applaud the NDP for a motion he considered anti-Israel.
In response to a question Thursday from The Canadian Press, he said he had not made any decisions he was willing to share.
The final motion included 14 amendments proposed by the Liberals, which removed a separate call to recognize Palestinian statehood and instead saw MPs express support for a peace process and a two-state solution, according to existing Canadian policy.
It also identified Hamas as a terrorist organization, added a call for Hamas to lay down its arms, and changed the language on the ban on all Canadian exports to Israel of military goods and technology to prohibit arms exports.
Many of those changes reflected some of the criticism of the original motion, but the final motion was still met with displeasure from Israel and several Canadian Jewish organizations.
Housefather said he wishes the Liberals had simply rejected the flawed motion. However, there was the very real possibility that the cabinet would vote against it and the majority of the rest of the group would vote in favor.
Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith said last week that would have been a much worse outcome for the party.
Trudeau had not spoken publicly about the motion or Housefather’s concerns before Thursday.
“Over the years I’ve had many conversations with Anthony Housefather. I’ve known him for a long time,” Trudeau said, when asked if he had spoken to Housefather in the last week.
He went on to say that all of this reinforces that the Liberal group is a reflection of Canada, which can get complicated at times.
“And yes, for parties that can pick one side of the conflict and ignore the concerns of a lot of Canadians, it may be easier to manage that caucus. But I suggest it’s probably not as good for Canada,” he said. .
His office later said he had spoken to Housefather on the day the motion was debated, but did not say whether the two had spoken since.
Housefather is Jewish and has been defending his community against threats and protests against synagogues, Jewish community centers and businesses.
His riding in Montreal has been a Liberal stronghold since the 1940s and is home to the second-largest number of Jewish voters of any riding in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.