Indian-Canadian Singh is kingmaker
Toronto, Oct. 23: Opposition New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh says he congratulated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and will be a constructive participant in the new Parliament.
Trudeau’s Liberal party was projected to win the most seats in the 338-seat Parliament in Monday’s national elections. That outcome would give it the best chance to form a government. Still, the Liberals were poised to fall short of a majority, meaning they will have to rely on an opposition party to stay in power.
Trudeau will now have to rely on the New Democratic Party (NDP) to push through key legislation. Although the NDP had a disappointing night, as the number of seats it was projected to win was down sharply from the 2015 election, the party could exercise significant influence over Trudeau’s next government.
Minority governments in Canada rarely last more than 2-1/2 years. Singh vowed to “work hard to deliver on the country’s priorities.”
Trudeau would now require at least 13 legislators from his Left-leaning rival parties to reach the ‘magic number’ of 170 to form a Liberal Party-led minority government in the 338-seat House of Commons.
“The New Democratic Party is poised to play kingmaker in a minority parliament after Singh spearheaded a turnaround on the federal campaign trail that may have saved his leadership and pulled his party from the brink of irrelevance,” the Toronto Star said.
Singh said his party’s elected officials will now head to Ottawa to tackle a number of issues, including taking “real and urgent action” on climate change, making life more affordable for Canadians and making sure the “super wealthy pay their fair share”. Singh, who was himself a prime ministerial contender, said he wants the NDP to play a “constructive” role in the new Parliament, reported CBC.
Singh, a Leftist former criminal defence lawyer, tweeted: “The winner of this election is not a leader or a party — the winners should be Canadians. They want a government that works for them. Not the rich and the powerful.”