NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday the NDP will fight for a pharmacare expansion in the next Parliament as he also argued for the benefits of a minority government.
“Parliament works best when one party doesn’t have all the power,” Singh said.
In recent days, Singh has shifted away from talking about campaigning to be prime minister and has instead framed his policy announcements as arguments for electing more New Democrats, a trend that continued Wednesday in a campaign stop in Vancouver.
Singh made the pharmacare announcement at a pharmacy flanked by incumbent candidates Jenny Kwan, Don Davies and Bonita Zarrillo. Davies led the NDP’s pharmacare negotiations with the Liberals.
“If Canadians elect enough of us, I will be honoured to provide that type of leadership that every day focuses on what people need, fights for people every day,” Singh said.
“People are telling me that they believe that Ottawa works best when one party doesn’t have all the power. And if that’s you, if you think that’s something that resonates with you … then re-elect your New Democrat MPs and elect more of us, and we’ll fight hard for you.”
The NDP held the balance of power in the last minority Parliament through its supply and confidence deal with the Liberals. That deal saw New Democrats vote to keep the minority Liberal government in power in exchange for movement on NDP priorities like pharmacare.
The federal government has agreements with British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Yukon to provide coverage under the pharmacare program. The agreements currently cover diabetes medication and birth control.
Singh said the NDP will fight to expand pharmacare coverage to “around 100 of the most prescribed medications,” which he argued would cover about half of all prescriptions in Canada at a cost to taxpayers of roughly $3.5 billion annually.
Davies said the party is working off a World Health Organization list of “essential medications,” including antibiotics, pain medication and cancer drugs.
“These lists are employed all over the world. Canada is a laggard. Most countries have some form of universal pharmacare. Canada does not,” Davies said.
Singh has ruled out propping up a minority Conservative government if that’s the result of the April 28 election, but has not made the same claim about a potential Mark Carney-led Liberal minority.
Davies said that in the previous Liberal minority government, the NDP secured the “biggest health care expansion in a half century.”
“We got concrete results for millions of people. And that’s why I think Mr. Singh is so right when he says that Parliament works better when parties are working together,” Davies said.
“I’ve learned no party has a monopoly on good ideas. They come from all sides, and Canadians want to see New Democrats in Parliament pushing for progressive ideals.”
When Parliament was dissolved last month half of the NDP’s 24 MPs represented B.C. ridings. The province’s NDP Premier David Eby recently encouraged British Columbians to vote for his federal counterparts.
Davies said he and his colleagues are focusing on the campaign ground game to expand their seat count, though most polls suggest the NDP struggling even on the West Coast. The NDP garnered almost one-third of the popular vote in the 2021 election but a Leger poll for The Canadian Press published Monday suggests the party’s support in that province at 11 per cent now.
Earlier this month, Carney said that a Liberal government would be committed to maintaining the current pharmacare program but any expansion would need to take place in the context of other priorities.
“I think Canadians are worried when they hear Mark Carney talk about stopping it, not continuing it, not moving forward with it. They’re worried about that because they want to see more medication covered,” Singh said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also has said that no one currently receiving pharmacare or dental-care benefits would lose them if his party forms government.
Singh is scheduled to make a stop in Saskatoon Wednesday evening to meet with campaign volunteers and supporters.
Article by David Baxter.
