NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says a second Trump presidency would be trouble for Canada

EDMONTON -

Former U.S. president Donald Trump is an "egomaniac" operating in his own world, argues federal New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh, saying if he makes it back to the White House it could spell trouble for Canada.

During the NDP's caucus retreat in Edmonton, Singh said Trump operates in his own league. He likened him to an egomaniac who is seeking vengeance on his political enemies.

"It is clear that his job, that his goal, is not to help out people that are struggling with the high cost of living or housing or inflation in the states," Singh said.

"He's openly running on an egomaniac, vengeance-filled motive to become the president and it is incredibly disturbing to watch this."

Trump's rematch with U.S. President Joe Biden became more likely Tuesday after he won the New Hampshire primary, tightening his grip on the Republican presidential nomination.

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This week, the Liberal government announced it will launch a "Team Canada" task force to promote its domestic interests to prepare for a Trump presidency, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says represents a certain amount of unpredictability.

With the United States election in full swing and the Liberals down in the polls, the governing party has also begun escalating its attacks on Tories as conducting American-style politics. Liberal MPs have billed Pierre Poilievre as representing "Trump North."

The Conservatives have dismissed the attacks as a distraction from pocketbook issues.

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Singh has also drawn through lines between Poilievre and Trump, accusing both of being in politics for themselves.

"It makes sense for Poilievre to attack Trudeau," Singh said.

"But what we often see him do is pick on the weak. He's not willing to take on corporate greed, he's not willing to take on the powerful because that who he's controlled by."

 

Conservative spokesman Sebastian Skamski accused Singh of covering for the Liberals to distract from Trudeau's "record of misery" after eight years in power.

The "costly coalition" between the Liberals and the NDP "is desperate to blame their failures on anyone but themselves," Skamski said in a statement.

Singh, whose party is trying to pick up Tory seats in Alberta in the next federal election, has routinely brought up the record of the last federal Conservative government of former prime minister Stephen Harper.

He is trying to pitch the NDP as an alternative to successive Liberal and Conservative governments that people can trust.

Singh points to the New Democrats' track record helping usher in social policies such as dental care for uninsured Canadians.

"I think that's what we should focus in on, instead of those comparisons," said Singh, when he was asked it was fair for the Liberals to compare Poilievre to Trump.

"Donald Trump is frankly in completely a world of his own," he said.

"The things that he has done, the things that he has said, the type of person he is, there is no other comparison to someone who is as bad for democracy, as bad for people, as bad for the planet as Donald Trump."

On Wednesday, the NDP caucus is expected to turn its attention to housing.

Edmonton, where the retreat is being held, declared a state of emergency earlier this month on housing and homelessness.

Singh and his caucus will meet with a roundtable of local and provincial housing experts on Wednesday afternoon before wrapping up their retreat on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2024.

-- With files from The Associated Press