How and why the NDP decided to break up with the Trudeau Liberals

Jagmeet Singh recorded his video announcement early last week, before Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre publicly called the NDP leader out, labelling him 'sellout Singh'

Published Sep 05, 2024  •  5 minute read

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had regular face-to-face meetings as part of the supply and confidence agreement, but ending the deal was handled with an email. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk/Postmedia; Kelly Clark/The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Political secrets are regularly spilled alongside drinks at Ottawa’s ​​Métropolitain Brasserie, a favourite of Parliament Hill staffers, reporters and lobbyists, but on Tuesday night in Ottawa, a secret that was set to upend Canada’s politics was kept well guarded.

Anne McGrath, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s principal secretary, ran into three of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s senior staffers: chief of staff Katie Telford, her deputy Brian Clow and Andrew Bevan, chief of staff to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

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The group shared drinks and conversation, but McGrath kept the bombshell news Singh was leaving the supply and confidence agreement to herself.

The Liberals remained in the dark until just shortly before Singh posted a video online Wednesday afternoon announcing his plan to exit the deal keeping the minority Liberal government in power, raising the stakes of an early election.

“The fact is, the Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people. They cannot be change, they cannot restore the hope, they cannot stop the Conservatives,” Singh said.

Singh and Trudeau had regular face-to-face meetings as part of the supply and confidence agreement, but ending the deal was handled with an email sent by the NDP to a generic email for the prime minister, less than an hour before the NDP leader went public. By the time Trudeau was told by his staff, word had already leaked out to reporters and lobbyists across Ottawa.

The prime minister was arriving at a school in Newfoundland to announce a deal with the province’s government for a school lunch program when his staff told him the agreement was over.

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From the very beginning of the deal in March 2022, Singh and the NDP have always maintained that they could leave it at any point.

They debated the idea at last fall’s party convention. This past January, when an agreement on pharmacare seemed elusive, the party made it clear to the Liberals it would leave the deal if no progress was made. They suspended their help in the House of Commons during that time, preventing the Liberals from advancing legislation.

Anne McGrath, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s principal secretary, kept the news that her boss was leaving the supply and confidence agreement a secret when she ran into a trio of senior Liberal staffers. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press/File

A senior NDP official, who spoke on background because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said renewed discussions on leaving the deal began in June among MPs as they were wrapping up the spring session and preparing to leave Ottawa.

According to George Soule, principal at Syntax Strategic and former NDP director of communications, it was “inevitable” that one of parties would pull out of the deal before it expired in June 2025.

“I think for months the NDP’s been thinking about when and how they should do that,” he said, adding that the party had been thinking for awhile about not propping up the Liberals “a single day longer than was necessary.”

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At voters’ doors this summer, MPs and party candidates heard a consistent message that it was time for the party to abandon the deal and distance themselves from the unpopular Liberal government.

After more discussions, Singh gave his staff the green light in early August to draft an exit plan.

Singh recorded the video early last week, before Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre publicly called the NDP leader out, labelling him “sellout Singh” and urging him to exit the deal and vote to bring down the government.

The Conservative leader has since made it clear he will introduce non-confidence motions and force the NDP to take a stand when Parliament resumes later this month. The NDP source said the party will take every vote as it comes now that the deal is over, but Poilievre’s name-calling won’t be a factor.

“I don’t think we are going to let ourselves be goaded into an election by Pierre Poilievre,” the source said.

The Conservatives are the most prepared for a campaign today, with a full election war chest and 153 candidates listed on their website. The NDP has 57 nominated candidates with six more expected this week and the Liberals have 105 candidates.

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The Liberals didn’t release specific numbers but said a fundraising email they sent out after Singh’s announcement raised more money than any other email pitch they have made this year.

The NDP official said the party wants distance from the Liberals and believes the government is too tired after nine years in office to fight Poilievre’s party.

“We have to be the alternative to the Conservatives,” they said.

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The NDP source said, in addition to wanting to portray themselves as the clear alternative to the Conservatives, the party was frustrated by the pace of implementation in the supply and confidence deal.

They said almost as soon as the deal was signed the Liberals began saying that certain programs would take longer than promised to get up and running.

“It was like pulling teeth to get stuff done.”

Pharmacare legislation is currently in the Senate, but the NDP source said the Liberals could have moved it along quicker and there are provinces who are eager to sign up once the legislation is passed.

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Liberals say they were caught off guard by Wednesday’s announcement and didn’t expect the NDP to leave the deal this early. Reacting to the news, Trudeau said he would remain focused on delivering the programs the party has promised.

“I really hope the NDP stays focused on how we can deliver for Canadians, as we have over the past years, rather than focusing on politics,” he said.

According to a senior Liberal official, Trudeau had little time to respond to the NDP’s move before he stood in front of cameras Wednesday.

“His reaction in private was identical to the one in the scrum.”

The Liberals are still hoping to be able to stretch the minority government to next fall, when they predict the economy will be in stronger shape, Canadians will feel better about pocketbook issues and popular programs like dental care and pharmacare will be more solidly in place.

The senior Liberal said the government will need time to get those programs up and running, especially for the pharmacare pledge to cover diabetes medications and contraceptives. They acknowledged that even outside of the deal, the NDP is still their likely best bet to give them the time to do that work.

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“We need Parliament to work,” they said. “It is largely up to the NDP.”

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