Trudeau willing to make a deal with Quebec nationalists to prevent snap election
By avagrace // 2024-09-17
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Canada is facing the possibility of a snap federal election taking place before the fall of 2025 after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's confidence and supply arrangement with the left-wing New Democratic Party broke down. To avert this possibility, Trudeau and his Liberal Party are reportedly looking to the Quebec nationalists. Following the 2021 federal election, Trudeau's Liberals were able to increase their seat share in the Canadian House of Commons but fell 10 seats short of the majority needed to prevent his government from being ousted. To prevent an early election that could have seen the Canadian Conservative Party ushered into power, Trudeau turned to the left-wing NDP, which agreed to temporarily support Trudeau in exchange for substantial policy concessions. However, as soon as the NDP achieved all of its goals, it immediately pulled out of the confidence and supply arrangement, leaving Trudeau vulnerable. In fact, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has already promised to table confidence votes against Trudeau's government in the hope of triggering a general election, which polling indicates the Conservatives will handily win.

Quebec nationalists demanding substantial concessions in exchange for support

To prevent his early ouster, Trudeau is reportedly turning to the Quebec nationalist party the Bloc Quebecois (BQ), which is seeking Quebec's independence from Canada. Its leader, Yves-Francois Blanchet, has stated that it is willing to cut a deal with Trudeau for support during confidence votes in exchange for significant policy concessions. As it stands, the BQ has 32 seats to the NDP's 24, which is more than enough to prop up the Liberals, who have 154 seats. In an interview ahead of the party caucus, BQ House Leader Alain Therrien said his party is happy to regain its balance of power. He called the situation created by the NDP's departure a "window of opportunity" for considerable gains for Quebec. (Related: Elections Canada UNABLE TO REFUTE allegations that CCP agents infiltrated the 2021 federal election.) "[The party's] objectives remain the same, but the means to get there will be much easier," said Therrien. A BQ strategist who spoke under anonymity with The Canadian Press noted the party is taking for granted that when the federal election comes, it will usher in a majority Conservative Party government led by Poilievre. Quebec is unlikely to factor into this impending victory, the strategist noted. All the BQ is hoping is to grab seats from the Liberals in Quebec. "It's going to happen with or without Quebec," the strategist said. "[The Conservatives] are 20 points ahead everywhere in Canada, with the exception of Quebec, and that won't change." It is not surprising that the Bloc sees excellent news in the tearing up of the agreement that allowed the Liberals to govern without listening to their demands, said University of Ottawa political scientist Genevieve Tellier. "The Bloc only has influence if the government, no matter which one, is a minority," she explained. "In the case of a majority government, the Bloc's relevance becomes more difficult to justify because, like the other parties, it can oppose, it can hold the government to account, but it cannot influence the government's policies." On the BQ's priority list is gaining royal recommendation for Bill C-319, which aims to bring pensions for seniors aged 65 to 74 to the same level as that paid to those aged 75 and over. The BQ is also likely to push for more powers for Canada's provinces on matters of immigration, particularly when it comes to temporary foreign workers. The BQ may also demand more federal funding for Quebec, cuts to tax credits given to oil companies, more health care funding for provinces and stemming or eliminating Ottawa's perceived encroachment of provincial jurisdictions. Watch this episode of "Maverick News" discussing the situation between Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. This video is from the Maverick News channel on Brighteon.com.

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