Trudeau unveils deal to keep Liberals in power

Bloomberg

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an agreement with a left-leaning opposition party aimed at preventing another election until 2025.
Trudeau’s Liberals and the New Democratic Party have struck a deal that will see the NDP support the government in confidence votes in exchange for advancing policies including national dental care and prescription drug programs, Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday morning in Ottawa.
Saying it was “not an easy decision,” Trudeau argued the pact will allow his minority government to “function with predictability and stability, present and implement budgets, and get things done for Canadians.” He said both parties are committed to implementing higher taxes on bank profits, which was part of the Liberal platform in the 2021 election.
Trudeau called a snap election last year hoping to regain the parliamentary majority he lost in 2019. His Liberals won 159 of the 338 seats in Canada’s House of Commons, 11 shy of a majority.
The NDP holds 25 seats.
As Trudeau was speaking, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh posted a statement on Twitter saying his party is using its “power to deliver the biggest expansion of health care in a generation.”
The deal is for a so-called confidence-and-supply agreement, not a formal coalition pact that would see NDP lawmakers take cabinet positions.