Interim NDP Leader Don Davies says the Liberals are making phone calls to NDP members of parliament to see if they will join the Liberal Party in an effort to reach a majority government.
Davies told Global News he’s not worried about his six other NDP MP colleagues switching political teams.
“I do know that there’s been certain calls made by Liberals, I would probably describe them as ‘feelers’ that have been put out,” Davies said. “But I can tell you that in our caucus meetings that we have, our NDP caucus colleagues have committed to being strong, united New Democrats in Parliament, and I have every confidence that they’re going to remain so.”
The Liberals earned 169 House of Commons seats, just three short of a majority government. Global News reached out to the prime minister’s office to ask if they had approached NDP MPs about crossing the floor, and a spokesperson for the prime minister had no comment.
Prime Minister Mark Carney ruled out making a deal with the NDP when asked if he’d be interested in pursuing a formal governing pact at his first press conference after the federal election on May 2.
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“No, short answer no,” Carney said. “Obviously by definition in Parliament, we will need to get majority support to pass legislation, but … we will be putting forth legislation that’s consistent with our platform and consistent with the requirements of the time.”
The NDP went from 25 seats in the House of Commons to just seven in the last federal election, failing to keep the 12 seats needed to maintain official party status. The last time the party lost status was after the 1993 election with nine seats. The NDP regained official party status in the 1997 election.
Former NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced his resignation on election night after losing his own seat of Burnaby Central with only 18.2 per cent of the vote share.
The rules and timeline for the permanent leadership contest to choose the next official NDP leader have not yet been publicly announced.
More to come.
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