Canada, Oct 23 :
Indian-origin Canadian Jagmeet Singh-led New Democratic Party (NDP), which won 24 seats in the general election, is likely to emerge as the “kingmaker” where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party held onto power in a nail-biting poll, albeit as a weakened minority government. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party looks set to form a minority government as they were leading in 157 seats, with the Conservative party leading in 121. Trudeau needs to hit the magic number of 170 in the 338-seat House of Commons, a goal that will require him earn the support of another party, most likely the NDP, in order to govern. Trudeau, the 47-year-old former school teacher, dominated Canadian politics over the four years of his first term, but faced a grilling during the 40-day election campaign, which was described as one of the nastiest in Canadian history. His golden boy image has been damaged by ethics lapses in the handling of the bribery prosecution of engineering giant SNC-Lavalin, while the emergence of old photographs of him in blackface makeup rocked his campaign. Singh’s campaign promises include a $10 billion national pharmacare program, affordable housing, increasing child-care allowances, forgiving student loan interest and imposing higher taxes on corporations and the super-rich. A coalition between the Liberal Party and the NDP is likely to swing the resultant government further left in terms of policy. “The New Democratic Party is poised to play kingmaker in a minority parliament after Jagmeet Singh spearheaded a turnaround on the federal campaign trail that may have saved his leadership and pulled his party from the brink of irrelevance,” the Toronto Star newspaper reported.
With 24 seats in its kitty, the NDP has lost nearly 50 per cent of the seats it had won in 2015. The party, led by Thomas Mulcair, had won 44 seats, becoming the third-largest party in the House of Commons in 2015.
Despite the drop in seats, Singh in a celebratory speech on Tuesday said his party will now be “working hard” to deliver on the “priorities that Canadians have”.
“When we get back to Ottawa, every single day we are in parliament, New Democrats are going to be working to make sure Canadians’ lives are better,” he was quoted as saying by globalnews.ca.
Singh said his party’s elected officials will now head to Ottawa to tackle a number of issues, including taking “real and urgent action” on climate change, making life more affordable for Canadians and making sure the “super wealthy pay their fair share”.
Singh, who was himself a prime ministerial contender, said he wants the NDP to play a “constructive” role in the new Parliament, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Addressing supporters at his party headquarters in Burnaby, 40-year-old Singh said, “It is such an amazing honour to be home here in British Columbia with all of you.”
The first non-white leader of a federal political party in Canada congratulated Trudeau, 47, on his win and said he spoke to him earlier in the day, the report said.
Singh, a leftist former criminal defence lawyer, said he wants the NDP to play a “constructive and positive role” in the new Parliament.
