Trudeau’s foreign affairs minister claims ‘Canadians don’t want elections’ as NDP, Liberal party splinter

Joly was responding to reporters’ questions at a scrum during this week’s Liberal Party caucus retreat in Nanaimo, BC. Joly was asked if she and the Trudeau government were prepared for an early election now that their pact with the New Democratic Party (NDP) ended last week.

“What I heard this summer was Canadians don't want elections. They just want us to do the job. They just want us to govern. And that's what we're doing. We're governing. We're taking tough decisions. Why? Because times are tough, and so … Wait, wait, let me finish. I'm speaking,” she said as she went on to describe the Liberal government’s current agenda of limited dental care and affordable housing.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre told NDP leader Jagmeet Singh Wednesday to “put up or shut up” about no longer supporting the Trudeau government and insisted he supports a Conservative Party non-confidence motion that Poilievere said he will introduce “at the earliest opportunity” following the resumption of the Parliamentary session on Sept. 16.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, Poilievre demanded that Singh and asked the NDP to commit “unequivocally” to support a non-confidence vote. “Will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.

When asked about Poilievre’s statements Wednesday, Singh said he will “never” listen to the Conservative leader, according to CTV. “I'm not going to say our decision ahead of time,” Singh told reporters. “We will look at the votes and we'll make a determination of what's the best interest of Canadians. Unlike Pierre Poilievre, who wants to play games, we actually want to get things done for Canadians.”

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has been vague about when he plans to vote against the Trudeau government, saying at a news conference that he will assess the situation on a “case by case basis”