The 2021 federal election showed that Canadians wanted parties to work together. So that is the push behind the pact announced this morning with the Liberals, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the New Democratic Party, led by Jagmeet Singh.
The deal is contingent on parliamentary progress on key NDP policies, including dental care, pharmacare, housing, and climate change. This deal is a confidence-and-supply agreement.
“This supply and confidence agreement starts today and will be in place until the end of this Parliament in 2025,” Trudeau said in a press conference this morning. “The government can function with predictability and stability, present and implement budgets and get things done for Canadians.”
The Liberals have a strong minority government; combined with the NDP, the government can pass legislation.
This falls short of a coalition government. Then Prime Minister Stephen Harper tried to scare the Canadian public of a possible coalition government with the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois in 2008. Harper got then Governor General Michaëlle Jean to prorogue Parliament and was able to stay in power.
The new pact is not a coalition in that the NDP will not be part of cabinet and this only applies to areas where the 2 parties are like-minded. The agreement doesn't go beyond when the next election would have to be called.
The most recent example of a confidence-and-supply agreement was what the British Columbia NDP government made a similar deal had with the Green Party in 2017.
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Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen issued a statement late Monday: "This is an NDP-Liberal attempt at government by blackmail. Nation-building is replaced by vote-buying; secret deal-making over parliamentary debate; and opportunism over accountability." Bergen said. "If this NDP-Liberal coalition stands, Canada is in for a very rough ride."
This is still developing and the Bloc Quebecois will weigh in shortly. The NDP has its own press conference later this morning.
The Conservatives have to weigh in on this level of outrage, though the party might want to consider the huge advantages this pact delivers.
The party is in a leadership race where the range is widened. Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest are at opposite ends of what was the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives, respectively. The Conservative Party can have a full-fledged leadership race without a threat of a quick election. By 2025, you shouldn't be able to claim Canadians don't know much about the leader of the Opposition.
This only works if the party picks a viable candidate.
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The pressure is on the Liberals to make strong progress on these concerns before 2025. Promises won't cut it by 2025.
This is the part where we point out that the single payer health care system came into fruition with a Liberal minority government with a push from Tommy Douglas and the NDP. Just saying.
The 2025 federal election needs to be about the direction Canada is going with a stronger portfolio from the Liberals and a focused approach from other parties on why that needs to change.
photo credit: CPAC
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