NDP Will Vote to Bring Down Liberal Government, Singh Says

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 21, 2023. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party will table a non-confidence motion to bring down the minority Liberal government just minutes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new cabinet appointments.

“The Liberals don’t deserve another chance. That’s why the NDP will vote to bring this government down, and give Canadians a chance to vote for a government who will work for them,” Singh said in a statement on social media on Dec. 20.

The NDP was the last opposition party keeping the minority Liberal government in power by voting to support them in confidence motions.

In his statement, the NDP leader said Trudeau “failed in the biggest job a Prime Minister has: to work for people, not the powerful,” and said his party will be voting to bring down the government.

Singh said his party will put forward a “clear motion of non-confidence” in the next sitting of the House of Commons.

The House of Commons is on break until Jan. 27. Opposition parties can table non-confidence motions on allocated opposition days once the House returns.

Singh also took a jab at the Conservatives, who have been surging in the polls.

“The next fight is a big one. Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives will give CEOs and big business anything they want, and make callous cuts to pay for it. They will cut health care, child care, housing and people’s pensions,” he said.

Singh’s announcement comes on the same day that Trudeau shuffled his cabinet, and days after Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned from cabinet hours ahead of tabling of the Fall Economic Statement as finance minister. In the aftermath of the high-profile resignation, some Liberal MPs publicly called for Trudeau to step down.

Then-Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, arrive at the Hamilton Convention Centre ahead of the Liberal Cabinet retreat, on Jan. 23, 2023. The Canadian Press/Nick Iwanyshyn

The developments this week escalated calls from the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois for Trudeau to call an election.

Singh had previously not gone as far as the other two opposition parties, only saying that Trudeau needs to resign after Freeland, formerly Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and minister of finance, resigned from cabinet.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized Singh for declaring his party’s new position once the Parliament had already started the holiday break.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during question period in the House of Commons on Oct. 23, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

“Ha! Now that Parliament is closed and there is no chance to introduce any motion for months—until after you get your pension,” Poilievre said in sharing Singh’s Dec. 20 statement on social media.

“You did the same stunt in September, claiming you’d no longer prop Trudeau up. Then you went back on your word and voted 8 times AGAINST AN ELECTION & for your boss Trudeau,” he added.

The NDP previously had a supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals, under which they supported the governing party in key confidence votes in exchange for legislation sought by the NDP. Singh ended the agreement on Sept. 4, saying his party would decide on how to vote on future confidence motions on a case-by-case basis.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet speaks with reporters before Question Period, in Ottawa, on Oct. 22, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet welcomed Singh’s Dec. 20 statement, saying, “Better late than never,” adding that the Liberal government should be brought down at the first opportunity.

“There will be speculation about calculation and courage, but it must be understood that there is no scenario in which the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau—or his replacement—will survive budget, throne speeches or opposition days,” he said on social media on Dec. 20. “I still believe it needs to be early 2025.”