OTTAWA — The Liberals and New Democrats have reached a tentative deal to keep the Liberal minority government in power through to 2025, media reports say.
The CBC is reporting the leadership of both parties reached an agreement that would see the NDP support the Liberals on confidence votes.
The report says the deal would see the Liberals acting on national pharmacare and dental care, which are key priorities for the NDP.
Reports by the CBC and the Globe and Mail, citing unnamed sources, say that New Democrat members of Parliament still need to approve the deal.
The reports say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Liberal cabinet on Monday, which was unannounced, and then with the Liberal caucus.
Sources confirmed to The Canadian Press that a Liberal caucus meeting was taking place Monday night, but would not comment on the reports.
The CBC is reporting the tentative deal is what is known as a “confidence and supply” agreement, and not a formal coalition.
This kind of agreement, which is a version of the deal the B.C. NDP struck with the Greens in that province in 2017, generally involves an opposition party agreeing to support the government on confidence motions and budget or appropriation votes for a certain period of time.
The Liberals held on to power in the 2021 election but failed to win a majority of seats, which means they need the support of at least one opposition party to survive confidence votes.
The Liberals currently hold 159 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons, while the NDP has 25 MPs.
The Conservatives, who are in the midst of a leadership race, hold 119 seats, while the Bloc Québécois have 32 seats.
There are also two Green Party MPs and one Independent MP.
Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen issued a news statement Monday night in response to the media reports of the tentative deal, which she referred to as a “coalition.”
“Canadians did not vote for an NDP government,” Bergen said in the statement.
“This is little more than backdoor socialism. Trudeau is truly polarizing politics which is what he likes.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2022.
