THOMSON: NDP stunt was all for show

Today’s announcement by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh that he is terminating the NDP’s supply and confidence agreement with Prime Minister Trudeau and the Liberals caused a frenzy of election speculation. Will Canadians be headed to the polls this fall? It’s possible. But, it's not likely.To begin with the Conservatives, as much as they’d like to, can’t trigger an election on their own. Sure, they can put forward a non-confidence motion when the house resumes sitting on 16 September, and probably will. However, there is no guarantee enough MP’s from the NDP or the Bloc Quebecois would support it, and thereby force an election.Likewise, the Liberals aren’t going to suddenly realize they’ve been a dishonourable lot and commit mass political seppuku. In the past they’ve triggered elections to try and capitalize on the polls being close, or facing what they thought were easy conservative candidates, but that’s not the case right now.They’re the governing party and the fixed election date is still over a year away. They might tread more carefully now that the official agreement with the NDP is off the table, but they will still want to try and move their agenda forward for as long as possible and hope Poilievre and the CPC juggernaut slip up in a way they can capitalize on.Which brings us to the NDP whose announcement today caused this whole brouhaha; they aren’t in a position to fight an election.Over the past two years Jagmeet Singh and the NDP have been highly critical of the government, but whenever the opportunity presented itself to vote against their proposals, they didn’t. By saying one thing but doing another, they’ve painted themselves as hypocritical blowhards in the minds of many Canadians. They need time to counter that perception, which isn’t going to happen overnight.Then there is their finance situation, which isn’t rosy either.It was only in February of this year that the NDP finally paid off the $22-million loan that it took out to run its 2021 campaign. In the relatively short 7 months since then, it’s unlikely they’ve raised enough to fight what is shaping up to be a bitterly contested election without the need to go deeply into debt again.That daunting prospect will likely see the NDP maintain their current trend of voting with the Liberals in order to avoid an election for as long as possible. Because as their support slumps, a decline in contributions is also to be expected. As it is, fundraising numbers from January to March this year already showed the NDP lagging behind the other parties. During that period the NDP were only able to raise $1.3 million in contributions compared to the Liberals $3.1 million, and the Conservatives $10.7 million. Ouch.So, while there’s no doubt that a confrontation at the polls is approaching, today’s announcement offers little evidence that it is any closer to happening than it was yesterday.Yes, the coalition may no longer officially exist on paper, but it does unofficially because Jagmeet Singh and the NDP would rather do almost anything than support a Conservative non-confidence motion.So, Canadians will just have to wait while our politicians run out the clock.Alas. The coalition is dead, long live the unofficial coalition..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.

THOMSON: NDP stunt was all for show

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