The NDP is ending its governance agreement with the Liberals
Peter Zimonjic | CBC News | Posted: September 4, 2024 4:47 PM | Last Updated: September 5
Deal that ensured Liberal minority government's survival was the first such agreement at the federal level
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is terminating the supply-and-confidence agreement his party made with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government.
The party made the announcement in a video posted to social media Wednesday afternoon. The deal was scheduled to run until June 2025.
"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.
"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."
Singh said the Liberals will not stand up to corporate interests and he will be running in the next election to "stop Conservative cuts."
WATCH | Singh says he 'ripped up' deal with Liberals:
A spokesperson for the NDP told CBC News the plan to end the agreement had been in the works for the past two weeks — and that the party would not inform the Liberal government of its decision until an hour before the video was scheduled to go live online.
A senior government source told CBC News that the Prime Minister's Office was informed at 12:47 p.m. ET. Singh posted the video on social media at 12:55 p.m. ET.
The supply-and-confidence agreement struck between the two parties in March 2022 committed the NDP to supporting the Liberal government on confidence votes in exchange for legislative commitments on NDP priorities.
The deal, which ensured the survival of the minority Liberal government, was the first such formal agreement between two parties at the federal level.
'I'll let others focus on politics,' Trudeau says
Speaking in Rocky Harbour, N.L., after Singh made his announcement, Trudeau said his government is more focused on tackling the affordability crisis and climate change.
"These are the things that we're focused on. I'll let others focus on politics," Trudeau said.
"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."
WATCH | Trudeau asked about end of deal:
Trudeau said he hopes 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 programs.
"The contrast with a Conservative leader that wants to cut … the programs that Canadians are relying on to get through this difficult time, well, that will be a political decision that Canadians get to take in an election," he said.
Government House Leader Karina Gould — who only last week said she was confident the agreement would last until June — told CBC News Network's Power & Politics that Singh's decision was "a big surprise."
"There were no signs in the relationship that the NDP was going to do this. It came as a big surprise to all of us today," she told host David Cochrane.
"Mr. Singh has just decided that this is better for him politically and he's putting at risk all of the successful programs that we have put in place over the last three years."
WATCH | 'A big surprise,' says Gould:
Poilievre calls Singh statement 'media stunt'
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called Singh's announcement a "stunt" and criticized him for not saying whether he would vote non-confidence in the government.
"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," Poilievre told reporters in Nanaimo, B.C.
WATCH | Poilievre calls Singh's decision a 'stunt':
Poilievre called on Singh to commit to voting for an election at the earliest opportunity when the House of Commons returns.
"Right now, we don't have a calendar to indicate when we can put forward a motion," he 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."
In a media release accompanying his announcement, Singh said "the NDP is ready for an election, and voting non-confidence will be on the table with each and every confidence measure."
Last week, Poilievre called on Singh to pull out of the agreement. In response to Poilievre, Peter Julian, the NDP's House leader, said that "leaving the deal is always on the table for Jagmeet Singh."
Poilievre's call came in the midst of a byelection campaign in Elmwood–Transcona, a Manitoba riding where Conservatives have tended to finish second to the NDP.
The Conservative Party hopes to pick up ridings in British Columbia and northern Ontario currently represented by New Democrats.
A byelection in the Montreal riding of LaSalle–Émard–Verdun, formerly held by the Liberals, will be held Sept. 16.
Some promises in deal yet to be fulfilled
Through the supply-and-confidence agreement, the NDP kept the the minority Liberal government in power 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.
But some of the promises the Liberal government made to the NDP have yet to be fully realized.
Pharmacare legislation hasn't passed the Senate and a bill to implement Elections Act changes is still before the House. A promised Safe Long-Term Care Act has yet to be tabled.
- What questions do you have about the NDP ending its supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca.
While the Liberals and NDP have started to roll out a pharmacare plan by agreeing to provide free contraception and diabetes treatments, the federal government has not yet completed deals with provincial governments to actually deliver those benefits.
The new federal dental care program won't be fully implemented until early next year.
The end of the supply-and-confidence agreement doesn't necessarily mean an immediate election. The Liberals could seek the support of the Bloc Québécois or try to continue negotiating with the NDP on a case-by-case basis.
On Tuesday, NDP labour critic Matthew Green said the NDP has been re-evaluating the deal since Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration less than 24 hours after Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National Railway locked out their workers after failing to reach a deal at the bargaining table.