(Ottawa) New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh is unwilling to break ranks with the minority Liberal government, even after criticizing the prime minister for his failure to protect Canadian democracy.
Singh said there is every indication that Justin Trudeau is willing to accept some level of foreign interference, which weakens democracy and undermines the trust of Canadians.
He made the comments after reviewing the report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, which indicates that a number of MPs knowingly provided aid to foreign governments – information that Justin Trudeau has had since months.
A Conservative opposition spokesperson said that if Jagmeet Singh is truly concerned that Mr. Trudeau will fail to protect democracy, he should withdraw his support for the Liberals and let them take on Canadians in an election.
But the NDP leader indicated his party would not abandon the confidence and supply agreement that keeps the minority government in power.
Jagmeet Singh says it is wrong to claim that holding elections is a solution to election interference.
Multiple investigations found that foreign interference did not threaten Canada’s ability to hold free and fair elections in 2019 and 2021.
However, the intelligence community considers Canada to be a permissive environment, where foreign actors have the leisure to pursue their strategic interests.
Mr Singh says his party will continue to use the tools available to parliamentarians to find solutions to combat foreign interference, but he has not specified what will be done.