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Canada’s NDP leader denies in talks with Trudeau for a coalition government
While speculations of a deal between the two parties have been ongoing after Trudeau failed to secure a majority in the September general elections, Singh refuted those rumours.
Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh on Tuesday denied that he is discussing a potential coalition government along with Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau.
While speculations of a deal between the two parties have been ongoing after Trudeau failed to secure a majority in the September general elections, Singh refuted those rumours.“There is no discussion at all of a coalition and that is a firm no for me. There’s not going to be any coalition at all,” the NDP leader said in Ottawa on Tuesday, according to the outlet National Post.
However, he added, “We are prepared to make parliament work for Canadians.”
Trudeau announced the full cabinet last month but the two parties have been in negotiations about an arrangement prior to parliament reconvening on November 22.
Multiple media outlets have reported that they could agree to a “confidence and supply” deal, which would mean support from the NDP foe Liberal legislation in exchange for a minimum common agenda.
Trudeau called snap elections in Canada on August 15, with the objective of securing a majority. However, his gamble to turning the minority into a majority failed when his party only secured 160 seats in the House of Commons in the elections, falling short by 10 seats. It will need outside support from other parties to pass bills.
For the NDP, the outcome was similarly disappointing: it secured only 25 seats, gaining only one additional seat in the elections.
Previously, when Trudeau ran his minority Government between 2019 and this year, the NDP often extended support to legislations, particularly when it came to Covid-19 benefits packages. However, there was no formal or informal arrangement between the two parties. That could change as talk continue.
The possibility of an arrangement has attracted the criticism from the principal opposition party, the Conservatives. “The Liberals are planning to form a coalition with the NDP that will be a disaster for our economy. They’re united in the same high-tax, high-spending agenda,” Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said on Twitter on Tuesday.
NDP is the fourth-largest caucus in the House after the ruling party, the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois.
