‘A firm no for me’: Jagmeet Singh slams door on idea of Liberal-NDP coalition

OTTAWA – NDP leader Jagmeet Singh poured ice cold water on rumours of a possible deal between his party and the Liberals saying any formal coalition is a non-starter.

“There is no discussion at all of a coalition and that is a firm no for me. There’s not going to be any coalition at all,” Singh said speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

Rumours have swirled in recent days about a potential deal between the governing Liberals and the NDP to help the Liberals pass their agenda through the minority Parliament.

Liberal caucus met on Monday for the first time since September’s election and Liberal House Leader Mark Holland said he was discussing the agenda with his counterparts in other parties, but was not talking about a specific deal.

A formal coalition is not the only avenue for the Liberals and the NDP to cooperate, in addition to working together on individual pieces of legislation, they could form a confidence and supply agreement.

British Columbia Premier John Horgan struck such a deal with the B.C. Greens in 2017, which allowed him to come to power after an extremely tight election that left Liberal leader Christy Clark one seat short of a majority government.

Singh said he wouldn’t rule out cooperating with the Liberals in such a deal, but stressed nothing was on the table.

“I’m open to hearing from the government, but there is no agreement. There has been no specific offer made.”