Jagmeet Singh says the only way to stop a Liberal 'super majority' is to vote NDP
Polls suggest Liberals could form majority government; NDP at risk of losing official party status
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Tuesday that voters who want to prevent a Liberal "super majority" should support New Democrats.
Public opinion polls suggest the Liberals could form a majority government after this election, while the NDP is at risk of losing official party status. This is a major change since the beginning of the year, when the Conservatives seemed poised to win a majority government.
That shift was triggered by former prime minister Justin Trudeau's resignation and the election of Mark Carney to replace him as Liberal leader — coupled with U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war and rhetoric about annexing Canada.
Campaigning in Vancouver on Tuesday, Singh said that people should vote for the NDP if they want to fight back against post-election cuts to health care.
"British Columbians … I'm going to specifically talk to you right now. Here in B.C., you have an incredibly important role to play in this election," he said. "You can make the difference between Mark Carney getting a super majority or sending enough New Democrats to Ottawa so we can fight to defend the things you care about."
Singh said he believes the Liberals are headed for victory on April 28 because people are "rejecting" the Conservative vision.
"And people are now looking towards the Liberals, but when they look closely at Mark Carney, they say, 'Wait a second, $28 billion in cuts to things I care about,'" he said.
Singh has claimed that Carney's pledge to balance the government's operating budget implies cuts to health transfers to the provinces and other programs.
Carney has said he plans to maintain existing transfers to the provinces, including health transfers. Singh has argued that maintaining health transfers is "banker speak" for cuts because Canada's population is growing and aging.
In Vancouver, the NDP leader again attacked Carney over his previous role as chair of Brookfield Asset Management.
Singh said Brookfield owns an Australian company called Healthscope, which owns 38 private hospitals in that country.
"[Carney] says health should not be a business, but just a couple of months ago, [Brookfield] actually invested in it being a business, actually bought a company that was a for-profit hospital," he said.
Brookfield Business Partners acquired Healthscope in 2019, when Carney was still the governor of the Bank of England. He joined Brookfield Asset Management in August 2020 as vice-chair and head of environment, social and governance. Both companies are subsidiaries of the Brookfield Corporation.
The Liberal platform says that "health care is a right" and promises to recruit more doctors, improve labour mobility for health-care staff and create a fund to support the opening of new clinics.
The Canada Health Act has language that prevents health-care providers from charging for procedures and services covered under Canada's single-payer system.
When asked what the election result could mean for his own future as NDP leader, Singh said he's focused on the election and it's been "the honour of his life" to help get a national dental-care plan implemented.
"The Liberals, when in power, often forget about people, and they don't act unless forced to do so, unless pushed to do so. And the only party that can push them to deliver what you need, what your family needs, is the New Democrats," Singh said.
Establishing a national dental-care program was one of the central policy priorities in the NDP's support deal with the previous Liberal government.
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