NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says Trudeau ‘will always cave to corporate greed,' federal election 'more likely than before’

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated Thursday his decision to “rip up” his party’s loose coalition with the Trudeau government, saying that this new political reality makes a federal election “more likely than before.” Singh had made the declaration Wednesday in a YouTube video.

At a news conference in Toronto, Singh said, “The Canadian dream is fading. They're working harder than ever and falling farther behind. So many have lost hope, hope that they'll ever be able to buy a home, that health care will be there for them, or that they'll ever be able to retire, but they see the billionaire class is better off than ever,” Singh told supporters.



“Grocery giants, land developers and corporate landlords are raking in record profits, big CEO bonuses and still getting government handouts. Greed is not a Canadian value. Justin Trudeau has proven again and again that he will never stand up to the elites, that he will always cave to corporate greed,” Singh continued.

But the NDP leader claimed that voting for the Conservative Party and its leader, Pierre Poilievre, would put Canada on a path leading “from bad to worse. Pierre Poilievre will take from workers, from retirees, from young people, from patients, from families, in order to give more to big corporations and wealthy CEOs, he will pour fuel on the fire of corporate greed,” he said.

Poilievere has dismissed Singh’s declaration as a political “stunt.” In s response to the NDP and Singh Wednesday, Poiliever spoke of “Sellout Singh … where he came out and claimed that he was wrong, that the coalition was a bad, costly idea, but he refused to commit to voting for a carbon tax election. So my message to Sellout Singh is this: “If you're serious about ending your costly carbon tax coalition with Trudeau, then commit today to voting for a carbon tax election.”

At Thursday’s news conference, Singh made no mention of the carbon tax – which he and his party have supported – but did say “an election is more likely than before.” He said he will assess whether to vote for or against government bills – including those confidence bills that could bring down the Trudeau government – on a case-by-case basis “and decide what is in the best interests of Canadians.”

Responding to a question from a reporter, Singh would not commit to voting with the Conservatives on the next non-confidence vote in the House of Commons.

Singh was asked if it was time for him to step aside as NDP leader given his support for Trudeau and his party’s poor position in the polls, where it is pegged in either third or fourth place among Canadian political parties. “I will lead the party into the next election," was his response.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains under pressure from caucus MPs to produce some evidence of change in his government or at least try a cabinet shuffle. There have been calls for him to resign since a byelection loss this summer to the Conservatives in the once-safe seat of Toronto-St.Paul. Trudeau’s Liberals remain about 20 percentage points behind the Official Opposition Conservatives.