Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) has withdrawn the support that has propped up Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party for more than two years. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh posted a video to social media explaining the decision and declaring that the Liberal Party was “too weak and too selfish” to stand up for the Canadian people.
The Liberals and the NDP struck an agreement in 2022, and Singh’s withdrawal leaves Prime Minister Trudeau in a very vulnerable position and dependent upon opposition support to back his legislative agenda. Meanwhile, polls show that Trudeau’s party is tanking and that he would lose convincingly to opposition conservatives if an election were held. The law dictates that Canada’s government must call a general election before October 2025.
The left-wing NDP accuses Trudeau of failing to tackle the increased cost of living and for constantly “caving to corporate greed.” Additionally, Trudeau faces increased criticism from other parties in Parliament, with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre demanding an early ballot. Leaders are furthermore calling for a vote of no confidence against Mr. Trudeau.
The Prime Minister has led the Liberal Party since 2013, at a time when the party had dropped to the third largest in Parliament. The party won a majority in 2015 after a campaign promising change and a fresh start for Canada, and Trudeau was elevated to Prime Minister. His career has not been without scandal, and in 2019, he was found guilty of ethics breaches after Finance Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould accused him of pressuring her to help a major construction firm avoid a corruption probe.
Also in 2019, a photo of a young Trudeau in “blackface” forced him to issue an embarrassing apology and a declaration that his “white privilege” came with a racial “blind spot.” The same year, an election again reduced his party was reduced to minority status, and he has since held on to power through agreements with smaller groups.
Hoping to gain credit for his handling of the COVID pandemic, Trudeau called an early election in 2021, but the gamble failed to pay off, and his party remained a minority. Analysts say the Prime Minister’s time may finally be up, and he now faces a challenging political future.