The leadership of the Liberals and NDP have reached an agreement that would see the NDP support the Liberal government’s priorities and keep it in power until 2025, in exchange for their commitment to act on key NDP priorities..The agreement would see the NDP back the Liberals in confidence votes, including the next four federal budgets. In return, the Liberals will follow on some programs that have long been priorities of the New Democrats, particularly national pharmacare and dental care programs..As first reported by the CBC., this agreement was voted on by NDP MPs late in the night on March 21. The Liberal cabinet also met virtually on Monday night..In a press conference held on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the message from Canadians was as clear as the mandate they gave Parliament after the election, “to work together to put people and families first, deliver results and build a better future.”.Trudeau said the Liberal-NDP alliance was “not an easy decision,” but that during uncertain times the federal government needed to function with “predictability and stability” to get things done for Canadians..“We’re different political parties. We stand for different things where we have common goals. We cannot let our differences stand in the way of delivering what Canadians deserve,” he said..Trudeau said the government’s priorities would be on investments in dental care, childcare and national pharmacare, building affordable housing and creating a Homebuyers Bill of Rights, and expanding access to voting..In a press conference held shortly after, Conservative Interm leader Candice Bergen characterized the Liberal/NDP alliance as a “power grab” and said the two parties had “cooked up a backroom deal that would see.Justin Trudeau get the majority power that he tried desperately to get last fall in the last election, but failed to get.”.Bergen said 82% of voters did not vote for a Liberal/NDP government. With the NDP now “in charge,” Bergen said Canada would see the decimation of its oil and gas industry that would also “prop up Putin and Russia,” as well as “.more debt, more inflation, more jobs lost, more uncertainty, and frankly, more polarization.”.“This morning, I think millions of Canadians are in need of hope. Canadians are waking up to this NDP/Liberal government. They are many of them are in shock, there is I’m sure a lot of despair in the west right now around this decision,” she said. “.This is not a good day for Canadians.”.Bergen said the Conservatives would do everything they could to hold.the NDP/Liberal government to account, including speaking directly to MPs from both parties “who did not tell their constituents” they would be a part of a two-party alliance..NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said despite the alliance, his party would not “let the Liberals off the hook.” He added that if the Liberals fell short on their promises to the New Democrats, then the deal would not continue..“We’re going to continue to fight hard for people and continue to make sure we hold [the Liberals] to account to deliver these things that people need to see,” he said..The Maverick Party said the Liberal/NDP alliance means Canadians are now governed by a “.secret political faction or ‘cabal coalition’ that serves their best interests, rather than the best interests of Canadians.”.“Did voters in NDP ridings elect their MPs to give Trudeau a blank cheque to bankrupt Canada?” asked J.ay Hill, Interim Leader of the Maverick Party.“It is the ultimate affront to democracy that the NDP has given Trudeau the majority he failed to win honestly just last September.”.The Maverick Party called on Western Premiers to stand up to Trudeau and Singh and “stop the further destruction on issues that matter to Western Canadians.”.Matthew Horwood is the Parliamentary Bureau Chief of the Western Standard
