OTTAWA — Conservatives are accusing the Carney government of contemplating a patronage reward for former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh after he was reportedly identified as a possible candidate to lead Canada’s federal tourism agency.CTV News reported exclusively Wednesday evening that Singh is being considered for the vacant president and CEO position at Destination Canada.No appointment has been announced, and the report did not establish that Singh has been selected for the position.“Destination Canada needs a leader, not a member of the Liberal club,” Conservative tourism critic Tony Baldinelli said Thursday.Baldinelli said he raised concerns last month about the vacancy and rumours of a political appointment with Rechie Valdez, secretary of state for small business and tourism.“While this speculation around Jagmeet Singh is still just that, the fact that CTV News is reporting him as a possible candidate is deeply troubling,” he said.“Mr. Singh has already done enough damage to our country by propping up the Liberal government in the previous Parliament. Now, it seems that Prime Minister Mark Carney may consider rewarding him for past services that benefitted the Liberal Party.”.Singh led the federal NDP from 2017 until 2025. His party entered a supply-and-confidence agreement with former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government in 2022, helping keep it in power during its weakest days.Singh lost his seat in the 2025 federal election and resigned as leader after the NDP was reduced to seven seats.“Our tourism workers and businesses need a competent and qualified leader in this role, not just another member of the Liberal club,” Baldinelli said.“We need someone with sound judgment and experience that understands this industry across all of its diverse sectors.”Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney was even more blunt.“Sounds like an April Fool’s Day joke!” Kenney wrote on X.“If the Liberals want to give Jagmeet Singh a patronage appointment to recognize his role in keeping the massively unpopular Trudeau government on life support for so long, so be it.”Kenney suggested Singh instead be appointed “Ambassador to Micronesia, or Consul General to Greenland.”“But please don’t insult the millions of Canadians who work in the tourism industry by appointing him to run Destination Canada,” Kenney said.“He has zero relevant experience or proven competence.”Kenney also attacked Singh’s previous descriptions of Canada’s history and institutions.“And he believes that Canada is stolen land marred by historic and ongoing white supremacy, systemic racism, and genocide,” Kenney wrote.“How can someone who believes Canada is a moral blight promote us to the rest of the world?”.Destination Canada is a federally owned Crown corporation responsible for marketing the country as an international tourism destination.It will receive approximately $93.3 million in parliamentary appropriations during the 2026-27 fiscal year.Meaghan Ferrigno has served as interim president and CEO since July 1 following the retirement of Marsha Walden.The federal appointments registry currently lists the permanent president’s position as vacant.Neither the government nor Singh has publicly confirmed that he is being considered for the job.
