Ford says Singh is ‘just blowing smoke’ and won’t call early federal election

September 9, 2024 Canuck

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he thinks it’s unlikely national NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will trigger an early federal election after he tore up the deal keeping Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in power last week.

“Well, as far as I’m concerned, MP Singh is just blowing smoke,” Ford said at an unrelated news conference in Prince Edward County on Monday.

Ford predicted that Singh will continue to prop up the Liberal minority government despite ending the supply-and-confidence agreement, which was set to expire in June 2025, in an effort to secure his pension.

“There’s nothing more important to these greedy politicians than collecting a pension,” Ford said. “I’ll stand up here and apologize to all the greedy politicians if he calls the election early. But let’s face it, he wants his pension. He’s not going anywhere until October, let’s say 20th, 2025.”

Singh, who is eligible for his pension as soon as February 2025, has denied claims that last week’s decision to rip up the deal was motivated by anything other than ending his party’s support for what he described as Trudeau’s “weak” and “selfish” Liberals.

Signed in 2022, the deal between the NDP and the Liberals was crafted to address the former’s political priorities, including a dental care plan for low-income households. While the deal was in place, the NDP promised not to move or vote for a non-confidence motion against the Liberals.

Now that the deal has ended, Singh has acknowledged that an election before the fixed date of October 2025 is “more likely.”

Meanwhile, Ford continues to face questions about his own potential plans to call an early election before the fixed date of June 2026. His refusal to stick to that date has created speculation in some political circles that he may call voters to the polls earlier to get ahead of a federal vote.

“I’ll tell you, we aren’t calling an election this year, and we’re going to make sure that we continue with prosperity and creating jobs and opportunities for the people of Ontario,” he said Monday.

Ford was asked on Monday whether his government could call an election in 2025 ahead of the October date. However, he was non-committal.

“We haven’t made that decision yet,” he said.

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