Highlights of the short-lived friendship between the NDP and the PLC

Photo: Adrian Wyld Archives The Canadian Press Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, June 30, 2023

Alex Fontaine

Published at 3:55 p.m. Updated at 8:08 p.m.

• Canada

The agreement between the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) is now a thing of the past. Le Devoirlooks back at the main achievements of an agreement that was historic.

Dental care

The Canadian Dental Care Plan, a centerpiece of the agreement, came into effect last May. Under the program, children, seniors and people with disabilities who don’t already have dental insurance—and whose household income is less than $90,000—can get reimbursed for the cost of certain dental care treatments. Access to the plan is expected to be expanded to all Canadians who meet these criteria in January 2025. Quebec considers this program an incursion into its areas of jurisdiction and has demanded a right to opt out with full compensation.

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Pharmacy Insurance

The pharmacare bill (C-64), another major piece of the agreement, was tabled in Parliament in February 2024. It includes plans to provide free contraceptives and diabetes medications. The The legislation, which is currently before the Senate, does indicate that provinces and territories that wish to benefit from the program will have to reach agreements with Ottawa. Health “is not a question of [jurisdiction], in my opinion,” federal Health Minister Mark Holland said when the bill was tabled. Quebec, which already has a similar regime, has instead asked to obtain financial compensation.

Anti-scab legislation

In June 2024, the anti-scab legislation (known as “anti-scabs“) received Royal Assent. As of June 20, 2025, employers will be prohibited from using replacement workers during a strike or lockout in federally regulated workplaces. Although it was a priority for the NDP, the bill received unanimous support from all parties in the House of Commons. Another gain from the agreement: federally regulated workers now have 10 days of paid sick leave per year.

Reconciliation

Several of the NDP demands focused on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. In this regard, in December 2023, the NDP boasted of having “secured a total of $8.3 billion in federal funding to address urgent housing needs for Indigenous populations living in urban, rural and northern areas” as part of its agreement with the Liberals.

Democracy and cost of living

At the end of March, Le Devoircompiled the 27 commitments made in 2022 as part of the NDP-LPC agreement. Almost all of them had been completed or were in the process of being completed. These included a one-time $500 supplement to the Canada Housing Benefit, a tax on financial institutions that made big profits during the pandemic, and some measures to promote democratic health and tackle the climate crisis.