Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has struck a deal with a political rival that will keep him in power until 2025. In exchange for support from the New Democratic Party for key votes, Trudeau’s Liberals have pledged progress on national pharmaceutical and dental care programs.
“With so much instability around us, Canadians need stability,” the prime minister said as he announced the deal with the NDP on Tuesday morning.
Trudeau said that “no one will benefit” if Parliament “does not work properly”, and that his Liberals are looking for common goals with the NDP and other opposition parties.
Trudeau was elected to a third term in September, but holds only a minority of seats in parliament, meaning he needs the support of other parties to govern. Minority governments have a relatively short lifespan and the governing parties try to legislate with the ever-present fear of a by-election.
Under a trust and supply agreement, an opposition party agrees not to vote to defeat the government for a time. With Tuesday’s announcement, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and his party will support Trudeau’s government in a vote of confidence in the federal budget. The left-wing NDP has supported Trudeau’s Liberals in key elections since 2019.
Singh’s party outperformed expectations in the previous election, adding only one seat. While no New Democrats get cabinet seats, the agreement of the party, which ranks fourth in the election, will have a major impact on the form of federal policy.
In addition to pushing for pharmaceuticals and dental care for low-income Canadians, Trudeau said his government would tax banks whose profits rose during the pandemic. He also said that natural rights and climate change remain priorities.
The deal was sharply criticized by the interim Conservative leader, Candice Bergen, who called the deal “a terrible attempt by Trudeau to hold on to power”.
“This is an NDP-liberal attempt by the government through blackmail. Nation-building is being replaced by vote-buying; secret agreement on parliamentary debate; and opportunism on accountability,” Bergen said in a statement late Monday night after media reports of an impending deal. “When this NDP-Liberal coalition stands, Canada is on a very hard journey.”
While parties often support each other during minority governments, formal trust and supply agreements are relatively rare in federal politics. At the provincial and territorial levels, three governments have made similar agreements since 2017. The most prominent deal, between the British Columbia NDP government and the Green Party, lasted three years.
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