(Bloomberg) — Elected lawmakers in Canada’s governing Liberal Party voted against adopting a mechanism that would have given them more power to oust Prime Minister Mark Carney as party leader in the future.

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James Maloney, the Liberal caucus chair who represents a Toronto district, told reporters Sunday that members chose not to adopt the Reform Act, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The law, which was enacted about a decade ago, allows members of parliament to remove their party leader by secret ballot. Lawmakers in each party choose which provisions of the act they want to use at a caucus meeting after an election.

Liberals opted not to use the Reform Act leadership rules after Justin Trudeau’s third election victory in 2021, which became an issue in 2024 as his approval ratings tumbled and numerous Liberal lawmakers publicly called on him to quit. Trudeau had vowed to carry on, but eventually stepped down following the resignation of then Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

That opened to door for a leadership race that Carney won, and he led the Liberals to victory in a national election last month.

Conservative Party lawmakers used the Reform Act in 2022 to oust Erin O’Toole as leader after the party lost its third consecutive election to the Liberals.

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