A national petition is calling on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to remove Bowmanville—Oshawa North MP Jamil Jivani from the Conservative caucus over his contacts with senior officials in U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Jamil Jivani petition, titled “Fire Jamil Jivani Now,” was launched by political organizer Edy Haddad and had attracted more than 1,700 signatures by Friday.
Jivani represents Bowmanville and northern Oshawa in Parliament and remains listed as a Conservative MP.
The petition asks the Conservative caucus to remove him, seek greater disclosure of his meetings and communications with U.S. officials and request that appropriate Canadian authorities determine whether any aspect of those contacts warrants further review.
Those requests represent the position of the petition organizer. There is no indication that Jivani has been charged with wrongdoing or that Canadian authorities have determined his contacts with U.S. officials violated any law.
Petition focuses on Jivani’s U.S. contacts
Concerns raised by the petition centre largely on Jivani’s relationship with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance and several trips Jivani has made to Washington.
Jivani and Vance have been friends since attending Yale Law School.
During a February trip to Washington, Jivani met with Vance, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Jivani also said he briefly spoke with Trump during the visit.
Jivani said at the time that he wanted to help improve Canada-U.S. relations and contribute to efforts to reach a trade agreement.
He returned to Washington in April, when he participated in another meeting involving Greer, Canadian business representatives and other Conservative MPs.
Vance recently praised Jivani’s role
The controversy gained renewed attention in August after Vance publicly described Jivani as an effective Canadian advocate during trade discussions.
At a fundraising event, Vance said Jivani had been working behind the scenes and advocating on areas where he believed Canada and the United States could both benefit, including energy and automotive trade.
Vance also made dismissive remarks about Poilievre’s role in the negotiations.
Jivani’s outreach has generated debate within Canadian political circles over whether individual opposition MPs should conduct independent discussions with senior members of a foreign administration.
Earlier this year, some Conservative sources described concerns about what they viewed as Jivani engaging in “freelance” diplomacy.
Poilievre previously distanced himself from Jivani comments
Jivani also attracted controversy following his February Washington visit when he criticized Canada’s response to U.S. trade pressure.
In an American media interview, he described Canada’s reaction as an “anti-American hissy fit.”
Poilievre subsequently distanced the Conservative Party from those remarks.
“He speaks for himself and I speak for the party,” Poilievre said on Feb. 17.
Jivani has continued to argue that maintaining relationships with American officials can help Canada during difficult trade negotiations.
Organizer seeks disclosure of meetings
Haddad argues Canadians deserve more information about discussions between elected MPs and senior foreign officials when those conversations involve issues affecting national economic and foreign policy.
The petition asks Poilievre and Conservative MPs to demand disclosure of Jivani’s meetings and communications with Trump administration officials.
It also asks Canadian national-security and law-enforcement authorities to determine whether any aspect of those contacts warrants investigation.
That request should not be interpreted as an allegation established by authorities or evidence that an offence occurred.
The petition also argues individual MPs should not independently conduct what its organizer describes as a parallel foreign policy.
For Durham residents, the controversy has a direct local connection because Jivani represents the federal riding of Bowmanville—Oshawa North.
As of Friday, Jivani remained a member of the Conservative caucus, and no caucus expulsion had been announced.
