Image via Getty/Adrian Wyld
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an agreement reached between the federal Liberal and NDP parties. This agreement will ensure progress on NDP-backed issues in exchange for keeping Trudeau’s government intact. This confidence-and-supply agreement is effective immediately, and means there won’t be another election until the end of Trudeau’s term if both parties stay aligned.
To keep up their end of the deal, the Jagmeet Singh-backed NDPs will have to vote in support of Trudeau’s government in confidence votes and on budgetary matters. With the deal being proposed to last until 2025, this means that the Liberals can bring forward four federal budgets between now and then. In return, the Liberals will prioritize key issues backed by the NDP where both parties want the same “medium-term outcome,” including healthcare, climate change, housing, and more.
The Prime Minister’s Office published a statement about what this confidence-and-supply agreement really means. We’ve broken down the key details of what this all means.
A coalition government occurs when political parties come together to hold the most amount of seats in the House of Commons and share governing duties. Since the NDP haven’t been granted any seats in cabinet, this is not a coalition— just the two parties working together in mutual interest.
The Liberals didn’t formally ask the NDP to join government, and Singh would’ve turned them down anyway. “I want to go into it with the spirit of hopeful optimism but I will remain critical and we’re going to remain an opposition party,” Singh told CBC. “We are going to remain forceful in getting help to people and making sure that this agreement is followed through.”
As Justin Trudeau holds a minority government, meaning he holds the most seats in the House but not enough to have full control, having the NDP back him in certain votes would overrule any votes coming from other political parties. The Conservatives aren’t happy about this, with interim leader Candice Bergen insisting this is in fact a coalition (again, it’s not!).
Healthcare Will Be a Huge Focus
The Liberals and NDPs will work together to bring changes to the healthcare system, starting with a new dental program for kids under 12. Over the next few years the program will help families access dental care, and will expand to see people under 18, seniors, and people living with disabilities included. The program will be limited to families making under $90,000 a year, with no co-pay requirements for families making under $70,000.
The co-operation of the two parties will also see the passing of new pharmacare legislation by the end of 2023, with the Liberals and NDPs committing to work on a “universal national pharmacare program”. They’ve also committed to allot more money to the healthcare system to add more doctors nurses, and mental health supports, and to implement a Safe Long Term Care Act to discuss the shortfalls that COVID-19 has had on the system.
Climate Change, Affordability and Labour Issues Matter Too
Starting in 2022, the governments will work together to phase out federal support of fossil fuels. The Liberals and NDPs will also commit to a “Clean Jobs Training Centre” to re-train energy workers as the country moves away from its fossil fuel reliance.
This year, the parties will pass an Early Childhood Care Act, which will create agreements between federal and provincial governments to give long-term childhood care funding. This act will focus largely on non-profit spaces.
The parties are also pledging more affordable housing, with a “Homebuyers Bill of Rights” to come and a $500 top-up of the Canada Housing Benefit.
Labour rights will also be hugely affected by this alliance, with Trudeau passing 10 paid sick days a year for federally regulated workers ASAP. By the end of next year, the government is committing to call in replacement workers when unionized workers are locked out by their employer.
Indigenous Rights and Electoral Issues Will Be a Priority
There will be more funding to help Indigenous communities conduct burial searches at the sites of former residential schools. The government is also committing to advance policies that will help find the many missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals in Canada, and to work with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to determine how housing investments are delivered.
The two parties are also committing to limit voter disenfranchisement, saying they’ll expand the mail-in voting system, allowing people to vote at any location within their electoral district and possibly expand Election Day to three days. They will also make sure Quebec’s seats in the House of Commons stays constant.
To make this collab work, the two parties have “a guiding principle of ‘no surprises.’” This means that on top of supporting the Liberals on confidence votes and budgetary matters, the NDP won’t move a vote of confidence or vote against the government, and if anything comes up, the NDP will tell the Liberals their intentions before going public so they can hash it out privately first.
Both parties agree that communication is key, and have agreed to a minimum amount of meetings. Singh and Trudeau will meet once a quarter and there will be monthly stock-take meetings by an oversight group made up of staff and politicians. There will also be regular Whip and House Leader meetings.