Ontario parties react to federal NDP's move to support Liberals until 2025

Ontario's Liberals and New Democrats say the confidence-and-supply agreement between their federal counterparts demonstrates that voters want politicians to work together and get things done.

But the Progressive Conservative government says Liberal-NDP coalitions in Ontario haven't been good for the economy.

Government House Leader Paul Calandra pointed to a coalition between those parties in the 1980s — the first time such an agreement between two parties was  tried in Canada — which he argued led to higher taxes and debt in Ontario.

"The federal government, they will decide what path is appropriate for them. We saw in the province of Ontario what this type of coalition meant for the people of the province," Calandra said Tuesday.

"It led to, really, a decade of extraordinary difficult times for the people the province of Ontario."

Calandra said the provincial government needs to have a strong relationship with the prime minister, no matter what party is in power.

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the agreement in Ottawa shows Canadians that New Democrats will work to get things done.

She highlighted the proposed health elements of the plan including dental care for low-income residents and universal pharmacare, two ideas her party has campaigned on.

"You can see that when you elect New Democrats, they actually get things done that make your life better and easier," she said.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca says residents want politicians to work together on outcomes rather than partisan objectives.

Their comments came amid news of an agreement between the federal Liberals and the NDP that would keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government in power until 2025, while agreeing to expedite bills on shared priority issues.

The opposition party would support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority government on confidence votes until 2025 while agreeing to expedite bills on shared priority issues.

Neither provincial opposition leader fully committed to the idea of forming a coalition or similar agreement after the expected June election. They both said they would not support a government led by current Tory Premier Doug Ford and said they are campaigning to win.

Del Duca, whose party will be fighting to regain ground lost in 2018 when the Liberal caucus was reduced to seven members, said he hadn't discussed the idea with Horwath but said he is "prepared to have conversations."