NDP Leader Singh Open to Working With Liberals on Relief From Trump Tariffs

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh gives remarks during a press conference in Toronto on Sept. 5, 2024. The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he’s open to working with the Liberal government on a plan to support Canadians who may be harmed by U.S. tariffs, but that he still intends to vote non-confidence in the government.

“I’ve maintained my position that I will be voting against the government at the earliest opportunity,” Singh said during a Jan. 28 press conference.

“If the Liberals are serious, though, about a plan that should be put in place to support workers, call the opposition leaders together. ... Discuss that plan with us.”

When asked if he would keep the minority Liberal government in power to allow them to pass legislation to deliver a relief package before voting non-confidence, Singh said he had spoken to many workers concerned with U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Feb. 1. Trump has threatened 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican exports unless the two countries take sufficient action on drug smuggling and illegal immigration at their borders with the United States.

“This could be devastating for our country, so we do need to have a plan in place to support those that are impacted, those businesses, those workers,” Singh said, adding that he had not discussed such a plan with other opposition leaders.

Singh has previously said in December that his party would table a non-confidence motion to bring down the Liberal government. He reiterated that he would be voting against the government “at the earliest occasion,” during a Jan. 20 interview on CBC’s “Power & Politics.”

The New Democrats entered into a supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals in 2021, under which it supported the governing party in key confidence votes in exchange for legislation sought by the NDP. Singh ended that agreement in September 2024, saying his party would decide how to vote on future confidence motions on a case-by-case basis.

The NDP then voted to support the Liberal Party in three subsequent non-confidence motions introduced by the Tories, who have been calling for an early election. Because the Liberals have 153 seats in the House of Commons, the 119 Conservative MPs need the support of the 33 Bloc Québécois and 25 NDP MPs to achieve a majority of 169 votes for a successful non-confidence motion.

Bloc Will Not Support Government

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, however, told reporters on Jan. 28 that he would not support the Liberal government in a confidence vote. “If the Liberals want things to become clear and want to help people, they should simply start the election sooner,” he said.

Blanchet also said that former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who are the two frontrunners in the race to become the new Liberal Party leader, could call an election after the race finishes on March 9. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he would be resigning once the Liberal Party had chosen a new leader.

On Jan. 17, Trudeau said Canada would “not hesitate” to respond to U.S. tariffs, and that Ottawa would support regions or industries that were harmed by tariffs. The same day, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said an estimated $150 billion brought in from reciprocal tariffs on the United States would be used to support Canadians.