According to Justin Trudeau, the chances of Canadians going to vote for a new federal government in 2023 are pretty slim.
• Also read: Mayor Bruno Marchand wants a TGV between Quebec and Toronto
• Also read: Trudeau avoids commenting on the deployment of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine
• Also read: Notwithstanding the clause: “No federal vs. provincial question,” says Trudeau
The prime minister gave a brief interview to a local radio station in Hamilton, Ontario, where he is with members of his cabinet on a three-day retreat in preparation for the parliamentary session, which resumes next Monday.
“I don’t think any Canadian is interested in seeing us plunge into an election,” he told the 900 CHML host in English.
It was about the agreement signed last year between the Liberals and the New Democrats, under which Jagmeet Singh’s NDP will back the Trudeau government on key votes until 2025 in exchange for carrying out projects dear to the NDP’s hearts.
Despite some friction here and there, Mr. Trudeau’s relationship is healthy.
“It’s going very well,” he said.
“The reason we came together was because we recognized there was an opportunity to demonstrate that progressive governments can really make a difference for Canadians. That is what both the NDP and our government want,” Mr. Trudeau continued.
But Canadians’ views on a 2023 election are more nuanced than Mr. Trudeau suggests.
An Ipsos poll released the day after Christmas found that half (49%) of respondents across the country said they hoped general elections would be held sometime in 2023, and a significant number (43%) the Canadian believes that these elections will take place.
In the Prairie and Atlantic provinces we find more voters interested in an election, while residents of Quebec and Ontario are less fond of the idea of voting this year.
If Mr Singh insists on certain issues, most recently the privatization of health care so feared by the New Democrats, the NDP will not tear up the document that binds it to the Liberals.
In an interview with the QMI agency last week, deputy leader and NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice noted that “communication between the two parties is fluid at the moment” and that “things are going well” with the Liberals, even if they aren’t go “fast enough for our taste”.
The specter of an election doesn’t seem to please the New Democrats at this point. Better focus on the current challenges, especially with regards to the crises affecting the hospital system from one end of Canada to the other.
“If we’re going to hire more staff in hospitals and do the necessary renovations, I don’t think it’s going to be an election this year that’s going to accelerate. [les choses]’ said Mr Boulerice.
The most important thing for the New Democrats is that the Liberals respect the terms of their agreement. For the coming year, this means, on the one hand, passing a law to set up drug insurance and, on the other hand, expanding entitlement to the dental care program set up last year.FRAMED
Quebec Suicide Prevention Line
www.aqps.info
CALL 1 866 (277-3553)
child support phone
www.jeunessejecoute.ca
1.800.668-6868
Tel-young
www.teljeunes.com
1.800.263-2266