OTTAWA — At least one NDP MP is reluctant to bring down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and force a federal election if it means putting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in power.
“I have a long and consistent record of opposing Mr. Poilievre’s tactics. I do not believe he is fit for leadership and will not support his procedural games,” said NDP MP Charlie Angus, in an email to National Post, in a reference to a Conservative ploy to use the public accounts committee to quickly bring down the government in January.
Angus posted to Facebook that he would “put country first” and would “not vote with Pierre Poilievre to force an election.” Poilievre’s Conservatives have a massive lead in the polls and would be heavily favoured to win a majority government if an election were held today.
“Canadians deserve a plan, not political brinkmanship” wrote Angus.
The MP’s position clashes with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s pledge earlier this month to introduce a non-confidence motion when Parliament returns.
“If our party brings forward a motion it would be clear to me that the Trudeau government will fall,” said Angus, although he didn’t clarify if he would personally vote for the NDP non-confidence motion.
Angus, who has already announced he won’t be running in the next federal election, said that Trudeau’s political shelf life is likely to be limited anyway, after the dramatic resignation of former finance minister Chrystia Freeland on Dec. 16.
Freeland resigned hours before she was set to deliver a fall economic statement that blew past the government’s fiscal targets. In her resignation letter addressed to Trudeau posted on the social media site X, Freeland said she had argued for “eschewing costly political gimmicks” in the face of serious economic threats from the United States.
“Ms. Freeland has done enormous damage to Mr. Trudeau and it’s not clear how long this government will survive,” said Angus.
National Post
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