Jagmeet Singh Defends Decision to Support Liberals in Final Push

As the federal election campaign nears its end, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is standing by his decision to delay triggering the election, saying he could not risk handing a majority government to Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives. Speaking to reporters during a campaign stop in Toronto, Singh said he acted to protect Canadians from what he described as the cuts and division a Conservative majority would bring.

Singh also pointed to the New Democrats’ role in securing major social programs as another reason for his strategy. The supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals, signed more than two years ago, led to the rollout of key initiatives like national dental care and pharmacare. Singh said the NDP needed more time to ensure Canadians could actually benefit from those programs, believing that once established, it would be harder for any future government to dismantle them.

Despite breaking from the agreement last fall, Singh and the NDP continued to prop up the Liberal minority for months without forcing a confidence vote. With over three million Canadians now qualifying for the new Canadian Dental Care Plan and plans underway to expand access even further, Singh argued that the decision was worth the criticism. He emphasized that improving people’s lives, not political expediency, was the priority behind keeping the Liberals afloat.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh: “I say this with respect and a little bit sadly, but never trust a Liberal.”

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However, Singh’s long-standing cooperation with the Liberals has become a major vulnerability in the final days of the campaign. Both Conservatives and some progressives have accused the NDP of blurring the lines between their party and the Liberals. Meanwhile, polling shows Liberal leader Mark Carney pulling significant support from NDP voters, making Singh’s task of differentiating his party even more urgent as he campaigns across southern Ontario.

In a fiercely competitive finish, Singh warned that only a strong NDP showing could prevent a Liberal super-majority and ensure real progressive pressure in the next Parliament. As Carney and Singh criss-cross key battleground ridings like London, Ontario, often within hours of each other, the NDP leader is urging voters not to place blind trust in either of the dominant parties and to choose a voice that will truly fight for working Canadians.