The World Briefly

March 23, 2022

The Long Haul

Canada

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Canada’s ruling Liberal Party reached an agreement with the opposition New Democratic Party on Tuesday, a deal that will allow Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stay in power until the 2025 elections, the Associated Press reported.

The agreement will provide stability for Trudeau’s party, which won the September snap parliamentary polls but failed to secure a majority in the legislature.

Trudeau said the leftist NDP will support his party in exchange for deals on pharmaceutical and dental care plans. Meanwhile, the NDP will not place a lawmaker in Trudeau’s cabinet and will not have a veto on budgets or any other legislation.

The prime minister noted that the agreement will allow the government to “function with predictability and stability, present and implement budgets and get things done for Canadians.”

Still, the opposition Conservative Party criticized the deal as a “power grab.”

Analysts said the agreement will provide stability and promote further left-leaning spending priorities, such as medical drug coverage. They added that it was also another indication of Trudeau’s intentions to continue his tenure as prime minister.

Trudeau has said that he plans “on continuing to serve Canadians through and beyond the next election.”

Even so, political observers noted that there are doubts that Canada’s second-youngest prime minister will continue his winning streak amid a drop in popularity and intense criticism in much of western Canada.

In recent months, anti-vaccine protesters and truckers gridlocked the capital, Ottawa, over Trudeau’s measures against the coronavirus pandemic. Many called for his government’s ouster.

This story originally appeared in the March 23, 2022 newsletter, Egg on Face.