Article content
The federal Liberal government was not fulfilling its part of the governance agreement, driving the NDP to withdraw from the arrangement, Ontario’s NDP opposition leader said during a visit to Windsor this week.
“This announcement signals that it’s also time for change in our country,” Marit Stiles told reporters on Wednesday at a press conference held at the riverfront sculpture garden.
Article content
“We think that this is the time for change here in Ontario as well, and that’s why we’re here in Windsor.”
Stiles, MPP Lisa Gretzky (NDP — Windsor-West), and the entire provincial NDP caucus gathered in Windsor for the week to strategize a legislative agenda in anticipation of a possible early Ontario election.
The next provincial election is scheduled to take place on June 4, 2026. However, Stiles said “we are possibly looking at a provincial election happening well before it was supposed to.”
News broke from Ottawa just minutes before the scheduled media event that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was terminating the supply-and-confidence agreement his party made with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in March 2022.
The governance agreement, set to run until June 2025, committed the NDP to supporting the Liberal minority on confidence votes. In return, the Liberals agreed to advance the NDP’s legislative priorities, including dental care, pharmacare and affordable housing.
“I think that there’s been a lot of good that has come out of that agreement, but all agreements have kind of an end date,” said Stiles.
Article content
She thinks the NDP have “pushed the Liberal government in the right direction” federally to introduce legislation on pharmacare, dental care, child care, and a National School Lunch Program, but progress hasn’t moved quickly enough.
When Windsor’s link to the federal government was reached for comment by the Star on Wednesday, MP Irek Kusmierczyk (L — Windsor-Tecumseh), who is currently out of the country, provided a statement by email.
“Forty thousand jobs have been created in Windsor-Essex since 2015 when a Liberal government was elected, and there’s thousands more on the way with the EV battery plant,” said Kusmierczyk.
“We are rolling out vital programs for Windsor-Essex residents like dental care, childcare, pharmacare and housing that are lifting people in our community,” he said.
“I believe those are significant gains for everyday folks and working families worth fighting for.”
Recommended from Editorial
Despite the news from Ottawa, Gretzky told reporters that her priorities remain unchanged ahead of the next provincial election.
“My focus has always been on the riding, making sure that people have safe, stable, affordable housing, to ensure that they have timely and consistent access to health care, including mental health and addictions care,” she said.
Gretzky was expected to receive a nomination on Thursday, officially selecting her as the NDP candidate representing Windsor-Essex in the upcoming election.
Share this article in your social network
