Amy Hamm: Jagmeet Singh’s exit from deal changes nothing

For a moment there, it looked like we could retire “Sellout Singh” and offer some plaudits to Canada’s NDP leader. Not so.

After a week of Conservative party rumblings about a looming no-confidence vote, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh announced today that his party is pulling out of the supply and confidence agreement that has propped up Trudeau’s Liberals for more than two years. It’s not clear, yet, if Singh plans to trigger an election. That seems unlikely.

In a video titled “The Deal is Done,” Singh announced, rather dramatically, that he has “ripped up” his agreement with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. With a tense music overlay, Singh spoke of corporate greed, fights, battles, threats, and cuts — but not of a confidence vote. Surprising no one, he said he will run for prime minister in the next federal election, leaving us guessing as to when that could be. “The fact is: The Liberals are too weak, too selfish, and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people. They cannot be the change. They cannot restore the hope,” said Singh. It looks like the deal isn’t so done, after all. His messaging barely deviated from the way he spoke about the government when the deal was in full force — he attacked the Liberals, but left no indication he wouldn’t continue supporting them.

Lately, Singh can’t make it through a day without someone — usually Poilievre — accusing him of being Trudeau’s self-serving lackey, just waiting to cash in on a full government pension before finding a reason to bail on Canada’s deeply unpopular government. Singh would certainly be worthy of his “sellout” nickname if — as leader of Canada’s sole labour party — he chose to respond merely with words to the Liberal’s move that sent the country’s locked out/striking rail workers back with binding arbitration last month. While he took his criticism of Trudeau further than mere words — he didn’t go far enough. Like the Rolex on Singh’s wrist, today’s move was about showboating, and nothing more.

It is a half measure for Singh to boast about shredding his agreement to prop up the Liberals without triggering an election, just as it is a half measure for the man to not make a stronger statement about union strength and worker rights, instead opting for his usual and generic lines about “corporate greed.” It’s clear that Singh cares more about being any sort of leader, rather than the labour leader that his base and party deserves. It’s quite possible that today’s move will have the opposite effect he hoped for: that his supporters, rather than being inspired by his pseudo-defiance, will simply see right through him. It was a foolish move.

In terms of his coalition with the Liberals thus far, the NDP has arguably had the upper hand: the country has never seen a Liberal government swing so far to the left as Trudeau junior’s has. Many of the NDP demands from the 2022 supply and confidence agreement have been met. Between the costly federal dental plan and 10 paid annual sick days for federal workers, anti-scab legislation, a national pharmacare program (pending Senate approval), the Liberal refusal to take a strong stance on Israel and antisemitism, and endless chatter about “2SLGBTQQIA+” persons, the Liberals have been drifting into NDP territory. But despite having the upper hand, Singh, too, has had to dilute his party’s principles to keep the government afloat. He now risks decimating his entire party.

The Liberals will need NDP support on a vote-by-vote basis to avoid an election before next fall. Singh gave every impression he is going to keep on giving it. He is no Jack Layton. And there is no orange wave on the horizon.

National Post