Singh launches broadside against Poilievre as New Democrats prepare for Parliament's return
NDP's parliamentary caucus meeting in Ottawa for policy retreat
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh sharpened his attacks on Pierre Poilievre on Wednesday, accusing the Conservative leader of being out of touch with Canadians.
"For Pierre, it's all an act. He pretends to care but doesn't know how regular people live," Singh said in a speech at the start of this week's NDP caucus retreat.
Singh laid into Poilievre for opposing the federal government's new dental care program, noting that as a long-serving Ottawa MP, the opposition leader "has had government-funded dental care for almost all his adult life."
The subsidized dental care plan was a key element of the Liberal-NDP supply and confidence agreement, which has shielded the minority Liberal government from the risk of an early election.
Singh also needled Poilievre for calling a three bedroom home in Ontario "a shack" while he lives in a "government-funded mansion." Like the prime minister, Poilievre lives in an official residence managed by the National Capital Commission.
Singh's attacks on Poilievre come as polling shows support for the Conservatives rising at the Liberals' expense. Poilievre marks his first year as Conservative Party leader on Sunday.
The Conservative leader has staked out positions in two policy areas the NDP considers home turf: the cost of living and the cost of housing. The NDP and Conservatives also compete for many rural swing ridings in British Columbia and Ontario.
The party seems acutely aware of the threat it faces from Conservatives — which explains the aggressive tone of Singh's speech and the party's recent launch of its "Blue-Orange Battleground Fund," which is meant to help put NDP candidates in tight races with Conservatives over the top.
"(Poilievre) claims to care about working people, but you will never see Pierre Poilievre fighting alongside workers for higher wages," Singh said.
Singh and his caucus visited a picket line outside Hydro Ottawa on Wednesday. About 400 workers with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 636 in the nation's capital walked off the job in June.
Fall economic statement must focus on housing: NDP
The housing crisis is high on the NDP's agenda for the caucus retreat.
NDP caucus chair and housing critic Jenny Kwan said New Democrats will use their leverage with the Liberals to ensure the government's fall economic statement promises swift action on the housing crisis.
"We need ... real commitments in the fall economic statement for the government to understand the crisis that is there with respect to the housing situation," Kwan said.
The housing crisis will be high on the agenda when the New Democrat caucus meets in Ottawa today ahead of what's expected to be a busy parliamentary sitting.
No date has been announced for the release of the fall economic statement, which provides a snapshot of government spending and the outlook for the Canadian economy. Such statements also can contain new spending measures.
Kwan said the NDP will press the Liberals to expand the not-for-profit housing market and build more housing co-operatives. She said New Democrats also will pressure the federal government to change the initiatives that accompany the national housing strategy, which she said have not been "particularly effective."
The federal NDP currently holds the balance of power in the House of Commons. The Liberal minority government relies on New Democrats' votes to pass legislation through a formal agreement that both parties signed.
Under the terms of that confidence-and-supply agreement, the NDP agreed to support key government legislation in exchange for the Liberals advancing a number of NDP policy priorities.
WATCH | NDP to use deal with Liberals to 'force' more action on housing, Singh says
Nineteen months after that agreement was signed, the federal government has yet to pass an "anti-scab" law to ban the use of replacement workers during labour disputes in federally regulated workplaces — one of the items the NDP demanded.
The Trudeau government also has not yet tabled a Canada Pharmacare Act — Singh has said failing to pass the bill by the end of the year could be a deal-breaker — and has not met NDP demands for a bulk drug purchasing plan and a national drug formulary.
The New Democrats also are calling on the government to expand its subsidized dental care program for low-income kids to cover those under age 18, seniors and persons with disabilities.
The rising cost of living will also be on the agenda during this week's caucus retreat, which comes as the country inches closer to a federal election.
Weighing the NDP's election readiness
The NDP's fundraising efforts still lag far behind those of other major parties, said polling analyst and publisher of The Writ Éric Grenier.
"The NDP doesn't have a lot of money they can spend outside an election period," he said.
New Democrats have raised $2.6 million so far this year — a far cry from the $6.8 million raised by the Liberals or the $16.2 million collected by the Conservatives.
Polling support for the federal NDP appears stagnant. Grenier said this indicates that while the party's gamble on propping up the Liberal government hasn't cost it much support, it hasn't been able to expand its base either.
"The New Democrats have been able to hold their support but they are not growing it," he said.
With its flat polling numbers and sluggish fundraising, he said, the NDP likely is in no mood to trigger an election.
"They probably have more to lose than to gain," Grenier said.
Liberals appear to share that reluctance. An Aug. 25 Abacus poll suggests the Liberals are 12 points behind the Conservatives nationally.
Liberal sources told Radio-Canada the party is now talking about an election in fall 2024 or spring 2025 at the earliest.
Sources tell Radio-Canada that the NDP is now trying to secure additional concessions — including housing and cost-of-living commitments — in exchange for its continued support.
Singh is expected to kick off this week's caucus meeting with an address that will be open to the media.
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