NDP MP says he won’t play Poilievre’s ‘games’ to bring down Trudeau

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OTTAWA — At least one NDP MP is reluctant to bring down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and force a federal election if it means putting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in power.

“I have a long and consistent record of opposing Mr. Poilievre’s tactics. I do not believe he is fit for leadership and will not support his procedural games,” said NDP MP Charlie Angus, in an email to National Post, in a reference to a Conservative ploy to use the public accounts committee to quickly bring down the government in January.

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Angus posted to Facebook that he would “put country first” and would “not vote with Pierre Poilievre to force an election.” Poilievre’s Conservatives have a massive lead in the polls and would be heavily favoured to win a majority government if an election were held today.

“Canadians deserve a plan, not political brinkmanship” wrote Angus.

The MP’s position clashes with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s pledge earlier this month to introduce a non-confidence motion when Parliament returns.

“If our party brings forward a motion it would be clear to me that the Trudeau government will fall,” said Angus, although he didn’t clarify if he would personally vote for the NDP non-confidence motion.

Angus, who has already announced he won’t be running in the next federal election, said that Trudeau’s political shelf life is likely to be limited anyway, after the dramatic resignation of former finance minister Chrystia Freeland on Dec. 16.

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Freeland resigned hours before she was set to deliver a fall economic statement that blew past the government’s fiscal targets. In her resignation letter addressed to Trudeau posted on the social media site X, Freeland said she had argued for “eschewing costly political gimmicks” in the face of serious economic threats from the United States.

“Ms. Freeland has done enormous damage to Mr. Trudeau and it’s not clear how long this government will survive,” said Angus.

Since Freeland’s resignation, Trudeau has weathered increasing calls from his own caucus to resign as leader, which would prompt a Liberal leadership race ahead of the upcoming federal election in 2025.

New Brunswick MP Wayne Long, who has been calling for Trudeau to step down since the summer, posted a letter from the Atlantic Liberal caucus addressed to the prime minister calling on him to resign.

Atlantic caucus chair and Nova Scotia MP Kody Blois signed the letter, which argues that Canada needs new leadership to respond to tariff threats from incoming U.S. president Donald Trump. Blois also points to public comments by opposition leaders that they plan to vote non-confidence in the government when Parliament resumes.

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“If we are to have any chance in the next election, and prevent a Pierre Poilievre government, we need new leadership with a new vision for our party and the country,” Long wrote on Facebook.

Calgary Liberal MP George Chahal, one of the party’s two MPs in Alberta, also called for Trudeau’s resignation over the weekend, posting on social media a letter he sent to the president of the Liberal party.

“Our leadership is not hearing Canadians and many Liberals are ringing the fire alarm,” wrote Chalal.

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