NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said a supply-and-confidence agreement between his party and the Liberal government “accomplished a lot” a day after pulling the plug on the deal.
In a press conference in Toronto on Thursday, Singh touted the dental-care program for low-income Canadians and the national pharmacare that were agreed upon under the Liberal—NDP deal.
“We accomplished some significant things for Canadians,” Singh told reporters.
“We got dental care for millions of Canadians. We’re able to get the first steps on pharmacare to be able to get things done that are going to make people’s lives better.”
However, Singh said more needs to be done and that the Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “can’t deliver change.”
“It became very clear to me that Justin Trudeau is too beholden to corporate interest to go further, unwilling to stop big corporations that are ripping off Canadians,“ he said.
Singh announced in a pre-recorded video released on Wednesday that he had “ripped up” the deal with the Liberals, arguing that they have “let people down” and “don’t deserve” to be re-elected.
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He also pitched the NDP as the only party that can stop a surging Conservative Party from winning the next election.
On Thursday, Singh did not say if he will support any potential non-confidence motion against the minority Liberal government, but said that a federal election is now “more likely than before.”
The Liberals and NDP penned the confidence-and-supply agreement in March 2022 that was supposed to keep the minority government led by Trudeau in power until June 2025 and move ahead on some mutually agreeable policies.
The parties agreed to a list of priorities on which to advance, including a dental-care program for low-income Canadians and national pharmacare.
In exchange, the Liberals have counted on NDP support on budgets and any other matters of confidence that would topple the government if the Liberals lost a vote.
Singh said the party will now weigh support for the Liberals on a case-by-case basis.
“For any question around votes, we’re going to make that determination on a vote-by-vote basis, so we’re going to see what the government presents and as an opposition party, we’ll look at it and then we’ll make our decision.”
Speaking in Newfoundland and Labrador on Wednesday, Trudeau said he was not focused on politics, but hopes to continue working with the NDP on legislation.
“I’ll let others focus on politics, but I will point out that I really hope the NDP stays focused on how we can deliver for Canadians, as we have over the past years, rather than focusing on politics.”
Trudeau wouldn’t say if an election was imminent, telling reporters a vote “will come in the coming year, hopefully not until next fall.”
Canada’s fixed election date law means a federal election must happen no later than October 2025.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and The Canadian Press.
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