Trudeau strikes deal keeping him in power until 2025

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Despite his government's considerable unpopularity, Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reached a deal with the left-leaning opposition New Democratic Party to keep power until 2025.

On Tuesday, the leader announced a "supply-and-confidence" agreement with the NDP, assuring reporters that the coalition government will restore "stability" to Canadian politics.

Earlier in February, a poll by Maru Public Opinion showed that only 16% of Canadians would vote for Trudeau depending on his actions during the first 2 weeks of the Freedom convoy protests, whereas half of the respondents believe that Trudeau is "not up to the job of being prime minister."

Read more: Trudeau's Liberal party decreases in popularity post-'Freedom Convoy'

 

The arrangement implies that Trudeau's Liberal Party will not only remain in power for the whole four-year term but that the NDP would also support its budgetary and confidence-voting stances. The two parties have 184 votes in the 338-seat House of Commons, 14 more than the majority required to keep the coalition in office for the whole term.

A dental care program for low-income families, battling climate change, and stopping public support of the fossil fuel sector was among the issues rumored to be on the table.

Leader of the NDP party Jagmeet Singh stressed that his party would not let the liberals "off the hook."

The opposition Conservative Party described the agreement as a "callous attempt by Trudeau to hold on to power,” with interim leader Candice Bergen declaring that "Canadians did not vote for an NDP government" and the result "little more than backdoor socialism." The agreement, according to Yves-Francois Blanchet of the Bloc Quebecois, was a "false majority."

Last September, Trudeau called a snap election with the aim of obtaining a legislative majority. Despite claiming that the election offered a clear mandate for his party going ahead, he was unable to achieve a majority.