Early election 'more likely' Singh says after pulling out of deal with Trudeau

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'has let Canadians down,' and he's aware that in doing so, an early election is 'more likely.'

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “has let Canadians down,” and he’s aware that in doing so, an early election is “more likely.”

Facing questions for the first time today, after making the major announcement Wednesday in a campaign-style video, Singh doubled down on his assertion that the Liberals “can’t deliver change.”

“We've got a lot done… but it became very clear to me that Justin Trudeau is too beholden to corporate interests to go further,” Singh said. “We know that that makes the election timing more uncertain and, frankly, more likely.” 

He said he thinks Trudeau is “too weak and too selfish to stop Pierre Poilievre,” framing the next election as a choice between the NDP and the Conservatives.

Designed to inject stability in exchange for policy progress when it was inked back in 2022, the two-party pact was set to expire in June 2025, when the House of Commons is to wrap ahead of the next fixed-date election.

Pressed by reporters on why he extracted his party from the deal, and whether Liberals’ handling of the recent national rail labour dispute was a factor, Singh said it added to his case. He called it a “concrete example” of Trudeau “caving to corporate greed.”

In taking the certainty of NDP support off the table, the Liberals will once again have to look for political support on a case-by-case basis on key votes in the House of Commons order to stay in power.