Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh prepare for the start of the federal election English-language Leaders debate in Gatineau, Que., on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

By Canadian Press

Politics

Singh says NDP will bring forward a non-confidence motion to bring government down

Dec 20, 2024 | 4:48 PM

The New Democrats will bring forward a non-confidence motion to bring down the Liberals in the next sitting of the House of Commons, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Friday.

In the latest blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s struggling Liberal government, Singh wrote a letter addressed to Canadians in which he doubled down on his call for Trudeau to resign but also said the NDP will vote to bring down the government, regardless of who is at its helm.

“The Liberals don’t deserve another chance,” Singh wrote. “No matter who is leading the Liberal party, this government’s time is up. We will put forward a clear motion of non-confidence in the next sitting of the House of Commons.”

That opportunity can’t happen until at least the end of January as the House rose Tuesday and isn’t currently scheduled to sit again until Jan. 27.

The NDP’s pledge to try to bring down the government adds more uncertainty to the prime minister’s future as he faces mounting pressure to resign follow Chrystia Freeland’s resignation on Monday.

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The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have both been calling on New Democrats to vote non-confidence in the government for weeks but the NDP have supported the Liberals on three confidence votes since September.

If such a vote passes, it would trigger an election.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre reacted to Singh’s letter by calling it a “stunt.”

“You did the same stunt in September, claiming you’d no longer prop Trudeau up. Then you went back on your word and voted eight times against an election and for your boss Trudeau,” Poilievre wrote on X, referring to Singh ending the supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals.

After that agreement ended Singh said his party would vote on confidence matters on a case-by-case basis. The NDP voted against the three confidence motions put forward by the Conservatives this fall.

Poilievre told reporters later in the day he wants to see a vote soon.

“We’re going to have months and months and months of this total chaos if Jagmeet Singh gets his way,” he said.

Poilievre posted online a letter he wrote to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, asking her to ask the prime minister to either trigger an election or reconvene Parliament before the new year to “prove to you and to Canadians that he has the confidence of the House.”

Immigration Minister Marc Miller called Poilievre’s move “ridiculous.”

The prime minister has his support, Miller said.

“If you’re a minister sitting around the cabinet table, confidence in the prime minister is not optional,” he said.

Trudeau has yet to address Freeland’s departure publicly or his privately stated plan to reflect on calls for him to resign

Trudeau stopped and spoke to reporters briefly following a cabinet meeting Friday afternoon but did not answer any questions, including about his reflections on his future or whether he will prorogue Parliament. He instead said the cabinet is focused on the work to do as economic threats loom from the incoming administration of president-elect Donald Trump.

That cabinet meeting followed a shuffling of ministers Friday morning, to replace ministers who have left or informed him they won’t run again in the next election.