Liberal-NDP deal a 'big risk' for Jagmeet Singh's future: Nik Nanos

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has “put his political future on the line” by agreeing to keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in power in exchange for progress on longstanding New Democratic priorities, according to pollster Nik Nanos.

The prime minister announced last week that the confidence-and-supply agreement with the NDP was finalized – an agreement that could keep the Liberals in power until June 2025. 

Nanos, CTV News’ official pollster, said the deal gives the NDP the ability to “put some wins in the window” between now and 2025. However, there’s a “potential political killer” in the deal for the NDP, Nanos said Wednesday on the CTV News Trend Line podcast.

“If the Liberals hit a controversy, if there is a scandal, if there is turbulence and the New Democrats are propping up the Liberals, they're going to be a prime target for Canadians that are frustrated,” he said.

He added that there would be NDP caucus members who’d be upset at having to prop up the Liberals -- and they would put the blame squarely on Singh.

As for the Liberals, Nanos says there are likely card-carrying members, some “blue Liberals” (or ‘business Liberals’) and voters of the party who likely “feel abandoned” by the deal.

As for the Conservatives, Nanos said the big question is: Where on the party’s political spectrum do they lean? “Do they go to the right? Do they stay the centre right? Do they move to the centre?”

A recent Nanos poll showed Canadians believe that a more socially progressive, and economically centrist, Conservative Party would make it more appealing. 

“But who knows what's going to happen, because there's a leadership at play andaverage Canadians are not necessarily conservative voters,” said Nanos. “So there's a different group of people that will be selecting the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.”

You can find a new episode of Trend Line every second Wednesday on CTVNews.ca, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts