The Liberal caucus voted against adopting the Reform Act, which would have empowered Liberal MPs to remove leader Mark Carney if they believed he was unfit to lead.

Liberal caucus chair James Maloney stated that Liberal MPs voted against adopting the act on May 25, reported the Epoch Times. He refused to elaborate, citing the privacy of caucus discussions.

As it stands, a Liberal leadership review can only be initiated through a "leadership endorsement" ballot after a general election defeat. There is currently no internal mechanism for a secret ballot vote outside the Reform Act.

The Liberal Party has never adopted the act, partly due to its Conservative origins.

The four provisions of the act concern the ability of caucus to trigger a leadership review, appoint an interim leader, expel or readmit MPs, and elect or remove the caucus chair, with each process requiring a minimum of 20% caucus support.

Conservative MP Michael Chong conceived it to empower MPs and limit the authority of party leaders. However, these rules only take effect if a party caucus votes to adopt them. 

Following their 2021 election loss, the Conservatives adopted all aspects of the Reform Act, using it to expel Derek Sloan in 2021 and oust Erin O’Toole in 2022. The Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Québécois voted against adopting the act in 2021.

After the 2025 election campaign, the Tories reaffirmed their adoption of each provision at their May 6 caucus meeting. Despite losing his seat, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre remains unchallenged as he plans to run in an Alberta byelection.

Meanwhile, Liberal leader Trudeau resigned January 6, prorogued Parliament until March 24, and was replaced by Mark Carney on March 9, who called an election the day before Parliament's return.

Frustrated by Justin Trudeau's prolonged tenure, some Liberals now wish they had adopted rules allowing caucus to initiate a leadership review. 

"I have the scars from the past where I think we haven't necessarily always been taken seriously," Whitby MP Ryan Turnbull said. "We have full confidence in our leader, but I do believe in caucus accountability."

According to four MPs speaking to the Globe and Mail, Sunday's vote followed a debate on its advantages and disadvantages. This differed significantly from initial post-election caucus meetings, where adopting the act was quickly rejected.

Others described the Reform Act as a reminder to the leader of caucus's importance, a much-needed safeguard, and generally positive due to past experiences with Trudeau's centralized control.

MP Nate Erskine-Smith, recently dropped from cabinet, published a blog post on Thursday arguing it's time to adopt measures like the Reform Act to reinforce a leader's accountability to caucus. 

Without the mechanism, MPs lacked the means to remove Trudeau as leader when the party faced low poll numbers in 2023 and 2024.

Erskine-Smith stated the provisions are not controversial, have nothing to do with any individual leader like Carney or Trudeau, and reiterated his consistent support for the Reform Act.