Despite ending the NDP-Liberal coalition Wednesday and terminating any official support Jagmeet Singh’s NDP had for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party, Singh refused to say whether he lacked confidence in the Liberal government.
Singh held a press conference on Thursday morning to answer questions on what the end of the NDP-Liberal coalition means for Canadians as parliamentarians prepare to return to the House of Commons in a couple of weeks.
“Justin Trudeau has let Canadians down, and Canadians are done with his endless disappointment and delay. Trudeau liberals can’t deliver change,” Singh said in his speech. “They are too weak and too selfish to stop Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives.”
When reporters asked Singh if the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion against the Liberal government when parliament reconvenes on Sept. 16, Singh repeatedly avoided the question, saying his party would consider voting with non-confidence on each motion in the house.
“We are ready to fight an election whenever it happens, and we’ll take the choice to Canadians,” he said. “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.”
When asked whether his party, which shares funds with the provincial NDP parties, has the funds for an election right now or would trigger an election when parliament reconvenes, he repeated the same line about an early election being more likely.
“I’ve ripped up the supply and confidence agreement with Justin Trudeau, and we know that that makes the election timing more uncertain and, frankly, more likely,” Singh said. “We know that the next election is going to be about a very important choice for Canadians, between Pierre Poilievre, who wants to destroy our health care system, tear it down, or New Democrats, who want to fix our health care system and build it up for people.”
In a speech delivered Wednesday in Nainomo, B.C., the Conservative leader challenged Singh, saying if he believes the Liberal government, which he propped up for two years with a coalition, is making life less affordable – Singh should call an election.
“If you’re serious about ending your costly Carbon Tax Coalition with Trudeau, then commit today to voting for a carbon tax election at the earliest confidence vote in the House of Commons,” Poilievre said in Nainomo. “That way, we can have a carbon tax election where Canadians will decide between the costly coalition of Trudeau and Sellout Singh that tax your food, punish your work, take your money, double your housing costs and unleash crime and drugs on your street or common sense conservatives who will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime.”
He continued on X, calling Singh a “sellout,” accusing him of keeping Trudeau in power long enough to rake in a pension and a “stuntman” for officially ending the NDP-Liberal coalition though remaining non-committal on triggering an early election.
“He refuses to commit to voting non-confidence to trigger a carbon tax election. So yesterday’s video was all a stunt!” Poilievre said on X.
Poilievre also reposted a letter from Colin Reynold, the Conservatives Elmwood—Tanscona Candidate in an upcoming Winnipeg byelection, to the riding’s NDP candidate, Leila Dance, calling on the NDP to vote with the Conservatives to trigger an election.
“When your leader, Sellout Singh, agreed to join the costly coalition to keep Justin Trudeau in power, he promised it would “make people’s lives more affordable.” Yet by his own admission, the NDP-Liberal coalition has been a disaster for working Canadians,” the letter said. “If elected, I will vote non-confidence in the Trudeau-Singh government to trigger a carbon tax election…will you commit to doing the same?”
The Liberal Party also took shots at Singh on X for leaving the coalition saying the possibility of an early election helped them achieve its best fundraising email of the year.
“It’s clear: Canadians are disappointed that the NDP abandoned progressive policies and put important programs like dental care, pharmacare, and $10-a-day child care at risk of Conservative cuts,” the party said on X. “While the NDP follows Pierre Poilievre, we’ll put progress over politics and keep delivering for Canadians.”
