Twenty-four hours before backing the 2022 Liberal budget on Thursday and averting a confidence vote on the Trudeau government, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on social media, saying he has not been a “real leader.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Singh went after Trudeau for alleged inaction on “climate disaster,” investing in pipelines and subsidizing energy projects.
A day later, after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented the budget to the House of Commons on Thursday, Singh pledged the NDP’s support for the spending program.
“The budget reflects the priorities that we laid out and the agreement that we have,” Singh told reporters. “It has really important things that are going to make a big difference in people’s lives. The expansion of our public healthcare system with a dental care program is going to be life changing for a lot of Canadians.”
Contrary to his earlier rant, Singh also stated that the environmental measures included in the budget were “sufficient” for him to continue to prop up the Liberals.
“We still have critiques that we will continue to pose on the approach to the environment but it is sufficient for our support to continue,” said Singh.
Last month, the Liberals and the NDP reached a “confidence and supply agreement” that could see Trudeau remain in power until 2025 despite his minority government.
In 2021, the idea that a Liberal-NDP agreement was in the works was ridiculed by the legacy media after the possibility was floated by former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole.
“First, there is no Liberal-NDP coalition. O’Toole may wish for one, but there is no evidence a formal arrangement — such as what we saw in 2008 — is being contemplated,” wrote Toronto Star columnist Althia Raj.
“So while both parties are willing to talk, what those talks lead to will be very different than the coalition bogeyman O’Toole is painting for Canadians.”
The budget introduced on Thursday introduced $56 billion in new spending, including a dental plan for children from low-income families that was a condition of the NDP’s support.
