Liberal House Leader 'quite surprised' by NDP pulling out of two-party deal

Government House Leader Karina Gould says she was “quite surprised” when she found out “at the same time as other Canadians today” that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was pulling out of the supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberal government.

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"It was quite surprising, and I think if I'm being honest, an odd way for the NDP to do it,” Gould said in an interview with CTV Power Play’s Vassy Kapelos on Wednesday. “Also odd in terms of deciding to end the agreement.”

Singh announced he was pulling out of the agreement in a video posted to social media on Wednesday. The NDP leader said he’s decided to cut ties with the governing party ahead of the fall sitting of Parliament because he thinks the Liberals are “too weak” and “too selfish” to fight for the middle class and stop the Conservatives.

The agreement was first signed in March 2022, and was set to expire in June 2025. It was designed to inject stability into the minority Parliament, with the NDP agreeing to support the Liberals on confidence votes in exchange for progress on shared priorities. Now, the Trudeau government will have to look for political support from opposing parties on a case-by-case basis.

Last week at the Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax, Gould told reporters she was "fairly confident” the “strong agreement” would go the distance.

"We signed the agreement until the end of June — that's something that has been signed and agreed to, so I'm going to be working on that premise," Gould said in Halifax.

But NDP sources have told CTV News that the prescribed leadership and oversight group meetings baked into the deal – and meant to assess ongoing progress – have not been productive for months, citing animosity between the PMO and senior New Democrats.

When asked by Kapelos whether any NDP concerns were conveyed to her over the summer, Gould said “no.”

“I was very honest and clear and confident last week,” Gould told Kapelos. “As far as I'm concerned, we've had a very productive working relationship over the last three years and have been able to deliver quite substantial programs for Canadians.”

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Gould also questioned the timing of Singh’s decision to pull out of the deal, given he’s vowing to challenge Pierre Poilievre, while in some respects heeding the Conservative leader’s call for him to stop backing Trudeau.

“Politics is more of an art than a science and if he really wants to stand up to Poilievre, doing exactly what he's asking is maybe not the best way to go about it,” Gould said.

The NDP’s move to rip up the deal does not mean an election is imminent, but it could come sooner than scheduled. The Liberal government could be brought down at any time through a non-confidence vote when Parliament resumes.

Asked by Kapelos whether she thinks the likelihood of an election has increased, Gould said “we’ll have to see how things play out.”

“Minority parliaments have existed without these kinds of agreements. So my job now as House Leader is to work with the opposition parties,” Gould said. “That could be the NDP on some things. It could be the Bloc on some things. It might even be the Conservatives on other things to continue to deliver for Canadians. So that's what I'm focused on.”