Government House Leader Karina Gould says she was 鈥渜uite surprised鈥� when she found out 鈥渁t the same time as other Canadians today鈥� that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was pulling out of the supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberal government.
"It was quite surprising, and I think if I'm being honest, an odd way for the NDP to do it,鈥� Gould said in an interview with CTV Power Play鈥檚 Vassy Kapelos on Wednesday. 鈥淎lso odd in terms of deciding to end the agreement.鈥�
Singh announced he was pulling out of the agreement in a video posted to social media on Wednesday. The NDP leader said he鈥檚 decided to cut ties with the governing party ahead of the fall sitting of Parliament because he thinks the Liberals are 鈥渢oo weak鈥� and 鈥渢oo selfish鈥� to fight for the middle class and stop the Conservatives.
The agreement was first signed in March 2022, and was set to expire in June 2025. It was designed to inject stability into the minority Parliament, with the NDP agreeing to support the Liberals on confidence votes in exchange for progress on shared priorities. Now, the Trudeau government will have to look for political support from opposing parties on a case-by-case basis.
Last week at the Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax, Gould told reporters she was "fairly confident鈥� the 鈥渟trong agreement鈥� would go the distance.
"We signed the agreement until the end of June 鈥� that's something that has been signed and agreed to, so I'm going to be working on that premise," Gould said in Halifax.
But NDP sources have told 麻豆传媒 that the prescribed leadership and oversight group meetings baked into the deal 鈥� and meant to assess ongoing progress 鈥� have not been productive for months, citing animosity between the PMO and senior New Democrats.
When asked by Kapelos whether any NDP concerns were conveyed to her over the summer, Gould said 鈥渘o.鈥�
鈥淚 was very honest and clear and confident last week,鈥� Gould told Kapelos. 鈥淎s far as I'm concerned, we've had a very productive working relationship over the last three years and have been able to deliver quite substantial programs for Canadians.鈥�
Gould also questioned the timing of Singh鈥檚 decision to pull out of the deal, given he鈥檚 vowing to challenge Pierre Poilievre, while in some respects heeding the Conservative leader鈥檚 call for him to stop backing Trudeau.
鈥淧olitics is more of an art than a science and if he really wants to stand up to Poilievre, doing exactly what he's asking is maybe not the best way to go about it,鈥� Gould said.
The NDP鈥檚 move to rip up the deal does not mean an election is imminent, but it could come sooner than scheduled. The Liberal government could be brought down at any time through a non-confidence vote when Parliament resumes.
Asked by Kapelos whether she thinks the likelihood of an election has increased, Gould said 鈥渨e鈥檒l have to see how things play out.鈥�
鈥淢inority parliaments have existed without these kinds of agreements. So my job now as House Leader is to work with the opposition parties,鈥� Gould said. 鈥淭hat could be the NDP on some things. It could be the Bloc on some things. It might even be the Conservatives on other things to continue to deliver for Canadians. So that's what I'm focused on.鈥�
