(Ottawa) Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre wants federal elections this fall. And he’s asking the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to help him topple Justin Trudeau’s minority government when Parliament resumes.
“Canadians cannot afford another year of Justin Trudeau,” the Conservative leader said during a press conference outside Parliament.
“Justin Trudeau is not going to resign. He needs to be fired,” added Mr. Poilievre, calling on NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to end the “costly coalition” that has ensured the survival of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals since March 2022 and which is due to end in June 2025.
PHOTO PATRICK DOYLE, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh
“The NDP must withdraw from this costly coalition and join common-sense Conservatives in calling for an election on the carbon tax,” he said.
Before speaking to reporters, Mr. Poilievre sent a letter to the NDP leader urging him to tear up the agreement in question.
In the letter, Poilievre urged Singh to “put Canadian workers” ahead of his $2.2 million pension if he wins an election next year. “No one voted for the Liberal-NDP coalition and no one wants another year of Trudeau’s economic misery.”
Under the deal, the NDP committed to supporting Justin Trudeau’s minority government in confidence votes in the House of Commons, including on the budget, for a period of three years. In exchange, the Trudeau government committed to implementing measures that are dear to the NDP, such as creating a national dental care program, passing anti-scab legislation, and investing in a pharmacare program, among other things. The most important elements of the deal have been implemented in recent months.
Mr. Poilievre argued that Justin Trudeau’s recent cabinet retreat in Halifax confirms, in his opinion, that the Liberal government has no intention of correcting course on several fronts, notably in the management of public finances.
“Jagmeet Singh’s coalition with Justin Trudeau has been a disaster for hard-working Canadians. Life has never been more expensive: families are paying $700 more for groceries this year than they will in 2023, and millions of Canadians are lining up at food banks to survive.”
The next federal elections are scheduled to take place in October 2025.
On Monday, government House leader Karina Gould said she was hopeful that the agreement between the NDP and the government would remain in effect as planned until June 2025.
Mr. Poilievre has issued this challenge to the NDP and the Bloc Québécois while his party has been leading in the polls for more than a year. On average, the Conservative Party holds a lead of between 15 and 20 per cent over the Liberal Party of Canada, in power since 2015.