Draft:Liberal–NDP confidence and supply agreement

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This page is about the confidence and supply agreement in place from 2022 to 2024. For the proposed coalition agreement reached in 2008, see 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute.
Liberal–NDP confidence and supply agreement
Delivering for Canadians Now, A Supply and Confidence Agreement
Justin Trudeau in 2019 at the G7 (Biarritz) (48622478973) (cropped) (cropped) (cropped).jpg
Jagmeet_Singh_in_Brantford_2022_2_(cropped3).jpg
Justin Trudeau (Liberal leader) and Jagmeet Singh (NDP leader)
TypeConfidence and supply
ContextMinority government in the 44th Canadian Parliament
EffectiveMarch 22, 2022
ConditionThat the NDP support the government on votes of confidence in exchange for Liberal co-operation on some of the NDP's legislative objectives
ExpirationSeptember 4, 2024[a]
Parties  Liberal Party
  New Democratic Party
Languages

Delivering for Canadians Now, A Supply and Confidence Agreement (French: Obtenir des résultats dès maintenant pour les Canadiens : une entente de soutien et de confiance), more commonly known as the Liberal–NDP confidence and supply agreement, was a parliamentary arrangement made between the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party (NDP), where the NDP led by Jagmeet Singh agreed to support Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government on matters of confidence in exchange for the government's support on some NDP policy priorities. It was the first agreement of its kind in Canadian federal parliamentary history. The agreement essentially gave the Liberal government a working majority from March 22, 2022 until the NDP withdrew from the agreement on September 4, 2024.

Contrary to statements from rival politicians and some media outlets,[1][2] this agreement did not create a Liberal–NDP coalition government, as no NDP politicians were appointed to ministerial positions.[3]

Background

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See also: Federal minority governments in Canada and 2021 Canadian federal election

In the 2021 Canadian federal election, the Liberals led by Justin Trudeau won 159[b] seats and were elected for a third consecutive term, however they were unable to reach the majority threshold by 11 seats. The New Democrats led by Jagmeet Singh only increased the size of their caucus by 1 seat, and remained as the fourth party in the House of Commons with 25 seats. It originally appeared that the Liberals were not planning on seeking out a confidence and supply agreement, similar to their first minority government situation between 2019 and 2021. There were some talks between the parties right after the 2021 election but they were not a high priority for either party and were put aside. However on March 14, 2022, Trudeau hosted Singh at 7 Rideau Gate to reconsider the idea of a possible confidence and supply agreement between their respective parties, and come to a tentative agreement.[3] In an interview with Mark Critch on March 30, 2022, Singh stated that talks for a confidence and supply agreement were resumed in January following a phone call from Trudeau to congratulate Singh for the birth of his first daughter Anhad. This led Singh to nickname the agreement the Anhad Accord.[4] The final agreement titled Delivering for Canadians Now, A Supply and Confidence Agreement was reached on March 22, 2022.

Terms of the agreement

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Duration

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The final agreement included a section describing the terms of the agreement in which the NDP caucus agreed to support the government on confidence and budgetary matters of the 44th Canadian Parliament until June 2025. The agreement also required that the Liberals govern for the whole duration of the agreement, essentially preventing the Liberals from calling a snap election prior to June 2025 without the approval of the NDP. However, the New Democrats left the agreement early in September 2024, as they felt the Liberals were not upholding their end of the agreement.

Collaboration on key policy priorities

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The agreement maintained that both parties work towards advancing key policy priorities broken into seven categories.

  1. A better healthcare system
  2. Making life more affordable for people
  3. Tackling the climate crisis and creating good paying jobs
  4. A better deal for workers
  5. Rreconciliation
  6. A fairer tax system
  7. Making democracy work for people

Effects of the agreement

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Public opinion

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See also: Opinion polling for the 2025 Canadian federal election § Pre-campaign period

NDP withdrawl and aftermath

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See also: 2024–25 Canadian political crisis and 2025 Canadian federal election

On September 4, 2024, Singh announced in a video posted on social media that he had ended the confidence and supply agreement, stating that the Liberals were continously caving to corporate greed and had let Canadians down. This announcement came soon after the Liberal government attempted to resolve the 2024 Canada railway dispute by turning the situation over to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which ordered the employees back to work. This move frustrated the New Democrats as they argued that it undermined Teamsters Canada's ability to strike and seek a better collective bargaining agreement. It was also alleged that Singh withdrew from the agreement to distance themselves from the Liberal Party, who were becoming incredibly unpopular according to opinion polls.

Despite the termination of the agreement, the NDP still voted against motions of no confidence until 2025. On January 6, 2025 following the resignation of Trudeau as prime minister, Singh vowed to bring down the government at the earliest possible opportunity. However this opportunity never occurred, as parliament was prorogued and eventually dissolved before a motion of no confidence could take place.

The new Liberal leader and prime minister Mark Carney led the Liberals to another minority government in the 2025 Canadian federal election on April 28, 2025, while Singh's party was decimated nationwide, with the NDP losing official party status and Singh losing his seat in the riding of Burnaby Central. In Carney's victory speech, he stated that he "saluted the contribution of Jagmeet Singh, and [his] remarks, leading our progressive values", which appeared to reference the NDP led priorities that were accomplished during the 44th Parliament.[5]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The agreement was initially scheduled to expire in June 2025, but was ended early due to the NDP's withdrawl from the agreement on September 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Most reports indicate that the Liberals won 160 seats, due to the election of Liberal candidate Kevin Vuong. Vuong was dropped by the Liberal Party after an Elections Canada nomination deadline, and was listed as a Liberal on the ballot despite both the party and Vuong clarifying that he would not sit as a Liberal MP if elected.

References

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  1. ^ Tasker, John Paul (March 22, 2022). "Conservative interim leader accuses Liberals of 'power grab' after Trudeau makes a deal with the NDP". CBC News. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  2. ^ Wherry, Aaron (November 10, 2021). "Those rumours of a Liberal-NDP deal came at the right time for Erin O'Toole". CBC News. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Wherry, Aaron., Barton, Rosemary., Cochrane, David., & Kapelos, Vassy (March 27, 2022). "How the Liberals and New Democrats made a deal to preserve the minority government". CBC News. Retrieved April 23, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ This Hour Has 22 Minutes (March 30, 2022), "The Liberals and New Democrats signed a prenup!", Youtube{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Full text: Read Mark Carney's election victory speech". National Post. April 29, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
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