NDP 'absolutely' angling to leverage Liberal dip in polls for movement on key policies
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he 鈥渁bsolutely鈥 feels he has the leverage to angle for action on his party鈥檚 policy priorities, thanks to the Liberals鈥 recent drop in the polls.
鈥淲e've always wanted to use our power to get results for Canadians to make Ottawa work for people,鈥 Singh told reporters in B.C. on Thursday. 鈥淭hat's why we were able to get things like dental care, and we're going to continue to push on that.鈥
鈥淏ut yes, we're going to push for things outside of the agreement,鈥 he added.
Since March 2022, the New Democrats have been locked in a confidence-and-supply agreement, in which the NDP have agreed to prop up the Liberal minority until June 2025 鈥 just ahead of the fixed election date in October of that year 鈥 in exchange for policy action on a suite of progressive issues.
Now, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appearing to take a dip in support after a summer spent trying to refocus his government, Singh says he鈥檒l be taking this opportunity to pressure his partners to act on policy areas that are outside of the existing agreement.
鈥淭he number one thing we're going to push for 鈥 (is) housing, building more housing rapidly, housing that's affordable, housing that people can afford to rent or to buy,鈥 Singh said Thursday.
There are housing commitments stitched into the original deal, including the completed one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit, which Singh now wants to see re-offered. But other line items, such as increasing efforts to launch the Housing Accelerator Fund, remain works in progress.
In the time since the two parties entered into this arrangement, Singh has managed to secure progress on some policies not already baked into the deal, most notably a boost to the GST rebate.
Meanwhile, polling numbers from Nanos Research have shown the Conservatives ahead of the Liberals since February, opening up political speculation that Trudeau is looking to stave off a federal campaign as long as possible, in the hopes of a turnaround. Keeping the NDP happy and on-side with the confidence-and-supply arrangement is central to avoiding an early election.
Kathleen Monk, a former NDP strategist and director of communications to the late Jack Layton, said in an interview with CTVNews.ca the NDP has always considered the deal to be the 鈥減olicy floor, not the ceiling,鈥 and that it鈥檚 a starting point with no limit to what the party could push for.
鈥淯ltimately right now, where the leveraging, and the 鈥榯aking advantage鈥 part of the arrangement is coming into force is that nobody wants this country to be thrust into an unnecessary election 鈥 frankly an unnecessary and expensive election,鈥 Monk said.
She added that considering the severity of the affordability and housing crises right now, Canadians want to see politicians working for them, not risking an election.
Monk said nearly 18 months into the confidence-and-supply agreement, both parties have shown they鈥檙e willing to work together on policies beyond what was included in the original deal, but what she really wants to see is that those initiatives are targeted to the Canadians most in need.
鈥淭here are ways the New Democrats, and frankly all parties, can make things challenging for the governing Liberals,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e going to withdraw their support for the deal, because the focus has to be on getting things done for Canadians.鈥
On Thursday, Singh also said he鈥檇 like to see the government get back into the housing game itself.
鈥淲e need to unlock the power of the federal government,鈥 he said. 鈥淥ur government has the land, power, and the resources to build homes that are affordable, and we need to get doing that.鈥
According to Monk, if the NDP can get that to happen, 鈥渋t would be significant.鈥
Beyond housing, several key pledges in the parliamentary pact are outstanding. While not all have time-specific deadlines, such as moving forward with 鈥渏ust-transition鈥 legislation, there are five specific commitments that the two sides have agreed need to be acted on before the end of this year, including expanding dental care to teens and seniors.
With files from CTVNews.ca Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca 星空传媒
Israel kills top Hezbollah figure in Beirut strike, Reuters sources say
Top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil was killed on Friday in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, two security sources told Reuters.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
DEVELOPING Here's what we know about Israel's latest strike in Beirut
Israel鈥檚 military has struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon鈥檚 capital, in a dramatic escalation in a year-long period of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
Passenger on a previous Titan sub dive says his mission was aborted due to apparent malfunction
A paid passenger on an expedition to the Titanic with the company that owned the Titan submersible testified before a U.S. Coast Guard investigatory panel Friday that the mission he took part in was aborted due to an apparent mechanical failure.
Cognitive decline reduced by MIND diet, especially for women and Black people, study finds
Following the MIND diet for 10 years produced a small but significant decrease in the risk of developing thinking, concentration and memory problems, a new study found.
The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.
Local Spotlight
They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.