Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters at the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., on Sept. 11.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he can’t wait to get “into it” with Pierre Poilievre this fall, while the Conservative Leader challenged the NDP and Bloc Québécois to bring down the Liberals at the earliest opportunity to force an election.
Monday’s return of the House of Commons is still a few days away, but the Liberal, Conservative and NDP leaders were all on the attack Wednesday, setting the stage for a minority Parliament with an uncertain end date.
That uncertainty is driven by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s announcement last week that he “ripped up” the supply-and-confidence agreement that saw his party support the governing Liberals in exchange for action on key priority areas, such as pharmacare legislation. The deal had been in place since March, 2022. Mr. Singh said he will now assess support for legislation on a case-by-case basis.
Mr. Trudeau spoke to reporters briefly Wednesday at the start of the final day of his party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C.
The Liberals are trying to show a united front behind Mr. Trudeau as polls show the party trailing by double digits behind the Conservatives. The Prime Minister is adamant that he will stay on as leader for a fourth campaign.
Quebec MP Alexandra Mendès put a dent in that front at the outset of the meeting when she told reporters that the party cannot win another election with Mr. Trudeau at the top, and that hundreds of her constituents have made it clear to her that they want him to resign.
Mr. Trudeau responded for the first time on Wednesday, saying “in a democracy people will have all sorts of different perspectives, and that’s important that we have that, including within the Liberal Party.”
He positioned the next federal campaign as a choice between Conservative cuts and Liberal investments, insisting that he will be the progressive alternative to Mr. Poilievre in the next election – a pitch Mr. Singh has also made to Canadians.
“I can’t wait to continue getting into it this fall with Pierre Poilievre, whose perspective is cuts are the only way forward, because I know confident countries invest in their future,” Mr. Trudeau said.
Mr. Poilievre held an outdoor news conference on Parliament Hill, where he accused Mr. Singh of misleading voters ahead of Monday’s by-elections in two ridings, one in Montreal and another in Winnipeg, by not clearly saying whether the NDP will vote to defeat the government.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre holds a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 11.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
“Which will it be?” Mr. Poilievre said, vowing to introduce a non-confidence motion as soon as possible. “It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
Mr. Poilievre delivered a similar message in French to Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet, who recently said he is open to supporting the Liberals in Parliament in exchange for action in areas such as seniors benefits.
The Conservatives can introduce a non-confidence motion at their next opposition day, but the Liberals control the scheduling of when those days occur.
Mr. Poilievre said the NDP Leader refuses to say whether he will vote to defeat the Liberals even though he’s been asked the question more than 30 times.
Mr. Singh once again refused to be hemmed in by Mr. Poilievre, saying the NDP will decide on how to vote on each bill or motion when the time comes.
He said Mr. Poilievre has long used petty insults as a political tactic.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to the media at the party's caucus retreat in Montreal on Sept. 11.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
“I attack him on his policies, on his bad decisions, on his track record. He likes to insult people and call people names. I think that shows you what type of person he is. And that’s going to be an important part of the decision Canadians make in the next election,” Mr. Singh said.
Conservative political messaging is targeting working-class Canadians who might traditionally have voted for the NDP, particularly members of private-sector unions.
In a further example, Mr. Poilievre said Wednesday that he supports the pilots in their labour dispute with Air Canada. “We stand with the pilots and their right to fight for a fair deal,” he said.
Similarly, in the recent labour dispute involving freight rail companies, Mr. Poilievre stressed the need for a negotiated deal.
Mr. Singh said Mr. Poilievre did not join rail workers on the picket lines and has a track record of supporting policies that are viewed as anti-union.
“This is someone who attacks workers whenever he gets a chance, whenever push comes to shove,” he said.
NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice added that Mr. Poilievre was a member of Stephen Harper’s Conservative government when Parliament approved two Conservative private member’s bills strongly opposed by unions. One of them required labour organizations to publicly disclose all transactions above $5,000, and another aimed to force a secret-ballot vote for any decision to certify or decertify a union. Both bills were scrapped shortly after the Liberals formed government in 2015.
The NDP caucus is meeting in Montreal this week for three days of strategy ahead of Parliament’s return.
The most recent poll by Nanos Research on political support shows the Conservatives in front at 39 per cent, followed by the Liberals at 27 per cent, the NDP at 21 per cent and the Bloc at 7 per cent.
The Nanos random survey of 1,000 adults is based on a four-week rolling average of 250 Canadians, ending Sept. 6. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Nik Nanos, the chief data scientist at Nanos Research, said Wednesday he does not think the NDP will be looking for a snap election.
“They’re looking for some breathing space and distance between themselves and their former parliamentary partners,” Mr. Nanos said.
He said he suspects on a non-confidence vote, the NDP may abstain or work it out so that the Liberals survive in the short term.
The pollster said the trend line for the NDP has generally been flat in recent years. He said the New Democrats entered into the parliamentary arrangement with the Liberals to deliver for Canadians, such as on the pharmacare and dental care plans.
“There hasn’t been any political dividend for them,” Mr. Nanos said.