NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. Singh is ruling out the possibility of forming a coalition government with the Liberals if no party wins a clear majority after the next federal election. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
OTTAWA – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is ruling out the possibility of forming a coalition government with the Liberals if no party wins a clear majority after the next federal election.
Singh says in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press that the idea is off the table for the New Democrats, even though the two parties have been working closely together.
They signed a deal in March 2022 in which the NDP agreed to support the minority Liberals on key votes in Parliament in exchange for action on NDP policy priorities.
The collaboration has so far led to the introduction of a national dental-care program, one-time rental supplements for low-income tenants, a temporary doubling of the GST rebate and legislation banning replacement workers.
The parties agreed to keep their agreement in place until 2025, with a federal election slated to take place by October of that year.
Singh says New Democrats are focused on getting through this session of Parliament then running to win the next election.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2023.
