Coalition? No way, says Trudeau despite losing majority mark
TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday dismissed any possibility of forming a coalition government, even though his ruling Liberal Party fell 13 seats short of a majority in the general elections earlier this week.
“There will be various and varied conversations, but I can tell you it is not in our plans at all to form any sort of formal coalition - formal or informal coalition,” he told reporters at a press event in Ottawa.
He also sounded a unifying note after the results showed a divided country with the Liberals wiped out in the western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“Canadians expect us to work together, listen to each other and find a way to move forward that isn’t as divisive and challenging as this election was,” he said.
Speaking to reporters for the first time after winning the election, Trudeau underlined the priorities for his second term as PM, especially the issues of climate change and affordability.
But getting over the divisions during the campaign was a recurring theme of his remarks, as he said, “It’s extremely important that the government works for all Canadians, and as I have endeavoured to do over the past years and as I will do even more now, deliberately, I will be reaching out to leaders across the country, reaching out specifically to westerners to hear from them.”
The Canadian PM may also have signalled his preference as to which of the other parties he could cooperate with to pass legislation in the House of Commons.
CONTROVERSIAL TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE
He committed to building the Trans Mountain pipeline, a project that is opposed by Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party (NDP).
At the same time, he also said he will be “very happy to work with the Bloc Québécois” on issues like climate change. The separatist Bloc captured 32 seats and emerged as the third largest group in the House, displacing the NDP (24 seats).
Trudeau announced that the new cabinet will be sworn in on November 20, pledging to keep it gender-balanced.