NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday he does not want a 2024 election even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reneged on terms of their 2022 deal.The Supply And Confidence Agreement would keep Trudeau in power until June 30, 2025, but Liberals reneged on December 31 when they failed to pass a pharmacare bill, per Blacklock’s Reporter. Six of 24 NDP MPs are not seeking re-election. NDPs sitting the next election out include Charlie Angus, Daniel Blaikie, Rachel Blaney, Richard Cannings, Randall Garrison and Carol Hughes.“We are not trying to plan for an election,” Singh told reporters.“We are trying to make sure we do everything we can to make a good decision for Canadians around the budget.”When asked what the benefits of a snap election would be, Singh responded, “That’s not something we’re hoping for.”He said he could not commit to voting for Finance Minister Chyrstia Freeland’s April 16 budget.“I want to hear from Justin Trudeau before we give our decision on the budget,” said Singh.“We didn’t come out with an abrupt ‘yes.’ We want to make sure we are reflecting on it properly, making sure we understand the elements that are in it.”Singh by contrast endorsed the Trudeau Liberals’ March 28 2023 budget a mere six minutes after it was tabled on the promise of pharmacare. “They do have until the end of the year,” reasoned Singh said at the time.“I want to be very clear. We expect that legislation to be tabled by the end of this year and passed by the end of this year. That’s according to our agreement. We are going to force the government to do that. They have until the end of the year. We are going to make sure they do that. It’s very important to us and we are going to continue to put pressure on the government to deliver on that very fundamental commitment that we forced them to make in our agreement.”Parliament has yet to pass Bill C-65 An Act Respecting Pharmacare, and it has no deadline attached. The long-delayed bill from February 29 2023 states cabinet’s intention to “work towards the implementation of national universal pharmacare.” “That actually sounds like an election promise to me,” Bloc Québécois MP Luc Thériault earlier told the Commons. “The NDP has sold out very cheaply.”
