End of NDP-Liberal agreement could move election forward: Acadia professor

Jagmeet Singh announced that the NDP would end their supply-and-confidence agreement with the minority Liberal Party on Wednesday. In the video, Singh said he was ending the deal because the Liberals could not stop the Conservatives or help the middle class.

Alex Marland is a professor of political science at Acadia University. He spoke with CTV about the end of the deal, and what it means for Canadian politics.

“Students today are all interested in international politics,” Marland said. “There’s a lot going on in Canadian politics too.”

Marland said the announcement wasn’t surprising, but the timing was.

“I think actually it’s strategically smart,” Marland said. “There’s a saying in politics. When you know where things are going, go there as soon as you can.”

Singh’s announcement opens the door for a federal election. Marland said if the minority Liberals fail to pass a major piece of legislation, it could trigger a no confidence vote. It’s also possible that another party will bring forth the vote.

“I think really what it does is it probably advances the timeline of when there is an election,” Marland said. An election was expected for October 2025, but Marland said it could be triggered by the spring budget.

Marland said the looming election will change the way the Liberals govern.

“Everybody all the time is going to be talking about confidence votes, possibility of a snap election,” Marland said. “The temperature is going to ratchet up in Canadian politics.”

Marland said it makes sense for Singh to end the relationship with the Liberals now before campaigning for the next election to separate his party from Liberal policies.

“What this does is it moves up Justin Trudeau’s best before date,” Marland said. “As soon as January hits the pressure is going to go up way more because it’s an election year essentially in 2025.”

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