Cabinet minister tells Liberals to 'change their attitude' as MPs return to Commons

A cabinet minister who serves as the federal Liberals' national campaign co-chair told MPs at the party's recent caucus retreat that they need to "change their attitudes" if they want to turn around their dismal polling numbers, sources tell CBC News.

More than half-a-dozen Liberal MPs asked CBC News for confidentiality in order to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the recent two-day caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C.

Three of them said Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada, national campaign co-chair, told them during her presentation that if they "want something to change" in their political prospects, they should change their "attitudes" first.

Two of those three MPs said the comment was poorly received by caucus members in the room. One said the statement was particularly galling because backbench MPs have been bearing the brunt of voters' dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government.

"To come in there and scold MPs is really out of place," the MP said.

A third MP, meanwhile, said they were not bothered by Ferrada's message.

"Recognizing that one's attitude plays a role in [public] perception" is a valid point, the MP said.

Sources said that Quebec Liberal MP Alexandra Mendès — who recently told multiple media outlets that voters in her riding want Trudeau to step down — did not air her views at the meeting.

Before the retreat began, Mendès told Radio-Canada that she would be expressing her constituents' views to her caucus colleagues in Nanaimo.

"It's a very generalized …'We're tired of his face' kind of thing," she told Power & Politics.

Mendès confirmed to CBC News that she never raised the issue behind closed doors.

"During Quebec caucus, other matters were more pressing and we only had an hour," she said in an email.

Mendès said she had to leave the caucus gathering Wednesday morning before the Q&A session.

All the MPs who spoke to CBC News said representatives of Trudeau's office and the party leadership in Nanaimo wanted to assure caucus they have a plan for when MPs return to Parliament this week. They said the overall mood at the meeting was positive.