Canada: Jagmeet Singh's NDP pulls support for Trudeau's govt

A year ahead of the general elections in Canada, Trudeau's minority government is now at risk after the NDP withdrew support from the Liberal Party.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, in a video posted on social media on Wednesday (Sept 4), said that he had informed PM Trudeau of the party's decision, saying the Liberal Party was "too weak, to selfish" to fight for Canadians.

The NDP supported Liberals in confidence votes as they had a deal - called a "supply and confidence" agreement - with Trudeau's party.

While making the announcement, Singh attacked Trudeau for caving to "corporate greed" and claimed that the Canadian PM's Liberal Party has "let people down."

Trudeau weakened after NDP pulls support Photo courtesy: Facebook/ @JustinTrudeau

"Justin Trudeau has proven again and again he will always cave to corporate greed. The Liberals have let people down. They don't deserve another chance from Canadians," Singh said in the video," the NDP leader said.

"There is another, even bigger battle ahead. The threat of Pierre Poilievre and Conservative cuts. From workers, from retirees, from young people, from patients, from families -- he will cut in order to give more to big corporations and wealthy CEOs," Jagmeet Singh added.

An NDP spokesperson said the plan to end the agreement was in the works for the past two weeks -- and that the party would not inform Trudeau's Liberal government of its decision until an hour before the video was scheduled to go live online.

The NDP's announcement of support withdrawal from Liberals does not automatically mean a federal election is imminent as the Liberals could seek the support of the Bloc Quebecois or try to continue negotiating with the NDP on a case-by-case basis but that Canadians may go to the polls before the election scheduled for October next year (2025), reports BBC.

Justin Trudeau affirmed hope that the next election will not happen "until next fall" so that his government has time to move forward on pharmacare, dental care, and school food programmes, reports CBS News.

Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called NDP's Jagmeet Singh's announcement a "stunt" and criticised him for not saying whether he would vote non-confidence in the government, as reported by CBC News.

"He came out and claimed that he was wrong, that the coalition was a bad, costly idea, but he refuses to commit to voting for a carbon tax election," Pierre Poilievre told reporters in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

The Conservative leader also called on Singh to commit to voting for an election at the earliest opportunity when the House of Commons returns, according to reports.

"Right now, we don't have a calendar to indicate when we can put forward a motion," Poilievre said.

"After Sellout Singh did this stunt today, he is going to have to vote on whether he keeps Justin Trudeau's costly government in power, or whether he triggers a carbon tax election," he added.

Jagmeet Singh has also said that his NDP is ready for an election in the country.

"The NDP is ready for an election, and voting non-confidence will be on the table with each and every confidence measure," Singh said in a media release accompanying his announcement.

A by-election in the Montreal riding of LaSalle-Emard-Verdun, formerly held by the Liberals, is scheduled to be held on September 16, as per reports.

Left-wing NDP kept Trudeau's minority Liberal government in power through the confidence-and-supply agreement, in exchange for movement on key priorities such as dental care benefits, one-time rental supplements for low-income tenants, and a temporary doubling of the GST rebate, according to a report by CBS News.

But some of the promises made to the NDP by the Liberal government are yet to be fully realised, reports said.

Pharmacare legislation has not passed the Senate, and a bill to implement Elections Act changes is still before the House, and additionally, the promised Safe Long-Term Care Act has yet to be tabled, as per reports.

(Reporting by Suman Das from Toronto)