Canada's ruling Liberal Party and opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) political parties have reached a tentative agreement that would see the NDP support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to keep it in power until 2025, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
The deal would see the left-leaning NDP back the centre-left Liberals in confidence votes, including the next four budgets, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported late on Monday.
The Liberals in return would follow through on some elements of programmes long promoted by the NDP, especially on national pharmacare and dental care, according to the CBC.
Trudeau is due to speak to reporters at around 9:00 A.M. ET, while NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is set to address the media at 10:30 AM ET, source added. The source declined to be identified ahead of the public announcement of the agreement.
CBC, citing unidentified sources, said the deal would see the two parties collaborate on some legislation and on parliamentary committees, but would not include the NDP joining Trudeau's cabinet.
It did not provide details on what legislation they would collaborate on.
NDP leader Singh last year ruled out a formal deal to keep the minority Liberal government in power but added he was willing to support Trudeau.
(Reporting by Reporting by Rhea Binoy and Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru, Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
