Explained: The Liberal-NDP deal that will keep Justin Trudeau in power till 2025

What is the Confidence and Supply Agreement?

The Confidence and Supply Agreement between Trudeau’s Liberal government and the NDP means the latter cannot vote for a non-confidence motion or move a vote of non-confidence until June 2025.

Trudeau, announcing the deal on Tuesday, said, “What this means is that during this uncertain time, the government can function with predictability and stability, present and implement budgets and get things done for Canadians.” He added that nobody benefits when the parliaments don’t work properly and his government would work with the NDP and other opposition parties on common goals.

The Canadian parliament has 338 seats and to win a majority government a party should win with at least 170 seats — Trudeau’s government was formed with the Liberals winning just 159 seats. Hence, even though Trudeau became the prime minister of Canada for a third term in September last year, it is in minority and faces the threat of being toppled.

According to a statement issued by Trudeau’s office, the NDP would support the government in matters of confidence and budget including “budgetary policy, budget implementation bills, estimates and supply” and the government would stay in power until the agreement lasts.

Other than this, any votes of the NDP that affect the functioning of the government can be declared of confidence by the ruling party, although the government would be required to inform the NDP if a vote is to be declared of confidence.

The Liberals and the NDP have agreed to at least one meeting of leaders every quarter; regular meetings of the house leaders; regular whip meetings; and monthly meetings of an oversight group to take stocks. The oversight group would consist of politicians and other staff and would “discuss overall progress on key commitments and upcoming issues”.

The major issues that the Liberals and the NDP will be working on will be Healthcare, housing facilities, climate crisis, workforce, reconciliation, tax system and voting.

Under healthcare, the two parties have decided to launch a new dental programme for lower-income Canadians, which would start for under 12-year-olds and further open for those up to 18-year-old, senior citizens and people with disabilities. Ultimately, it has been designed for families earning less than $90,000. The parties will also work towards continuing the national pharmacare program under a Canada Pharmacare Act and would require National Drug Agency to develop essential drugs as well as develop a bulk purchasing plan. A Safe Long-Term Care Act will also be tabled to ensure the health of senior citizens is taken care of.

Regarding housing initiatives, the parties will work towards extending the Rapid Housing Initiative for another year. They will focus on the Rental Construction Financing Initiative to ensure affordable housing and launch a Housing Accelerator Fund. An Early Learning and Child Care Act will also be introduced to offer affordable childcare opportunities to all Canadian families.

To tackle the climate crisis, the parties have agreed to work towards further reducing the emissions levels significantly by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. They will also work towards developing a plan to reduce public financing of the fuel sector. Development of home energy efficiency programs will be put in place to reduce emissions and increase energy affordability.

The parties will be providing 10 days of paid sick leave for all workers who are federally regulated. Also, a law would be introduced that would prohibit organisations from using replacement workers when workers are on strike or have been locked out.

The parties will be contributing towards Indigenous housing. They will also be bringing a publicly accessible beneficial ownership registry before the end of 2023.

The parties will be bringing in a three-day voting period to “expand the ability for people to vote” and expand election day. People will be able to vote at any place within their Electoral district. Also, the process of mail-in ballots would be improved.

The statement further states, “Both parties agree that parliamentary debate is essential. Both parties agree to identify priority bills to expedite through the House of Commons, including by extending sitting hours to allow for additional speakers, if needed. The NDP will support a limited number of programming motions to pass legislation that both parties agree to.”

So, is this a coalition?

The agreement in no way states that the Liberals and NDP are forming a coalition government. In the case of a coalition government, the NDP’s MP’s would have acquired seats as cabinet ministers in the government. They would also have to align with the Liberal government on all legislations even if they were not in confidence.

Although, here, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said, “We will remain an independent party and the opposition party, with the ability to hold this government to account, and to oppose the government where we see necessary.” He added that if the Liberals do not live up to the agreed promises, the agreement will collapse. “I want this to work, but we’re going into this eyes wide open. We have full accountability. We have the ability to withdraw support.”

The NDP and the Liberals would still have autonomy of their own and the former would continue being an opposition party.

Has the Confidence and Supply Agreement been signed before in Canada?

The Confidence and Supply Agreement, with different terms, was signed in 2017 between the Greens party and the NDP, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, after the Liberals lost a confidence vote in the parliament. The major accomplishments of this agreement were an environmental plan, legislation on child care and tax on real estate.

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