Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suffered a political blow on Wednesday when a small left-wing faction that was his ally withdrew support for his minority Liberal government in Parliament.
“Today I notified the Prime Minister that I have broken the confidence and supply agreement,” New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh announced in a video posted online.
The move means the Liberals, who are currently trailing the Conservatives in public opinion polls, will have to seek other support in Parliament to survive legislative confidence votes and avoid a possible early election.
In his message, Singh did not mince words: “Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for the people. They cannot be the change. They cannot restore hope.”
He also accused Trudeau of not being able to confront the conservative opposition.
The deal supporting the Liberals, signed in 2022, was due to remain in place until elections scheduled for 2025. Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservatives, the main opposition party, urged Singh to cancel it in a letter sent last week.
“I’m focused on Canadians. I’ll let the other parties focus on politics,” Trudeau said at a press conference in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (eastern Canada), listing the achievements of the Liberal-NDP alliance.
