Interim NDP Leader Don Davies says his caucus has several questions about the federal budget.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
As New Democrats determine whether they plan to support Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget, five of the party’s leadership candidates suggest it would be difficult to vote for it at this point.
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The Liberal government is two seats short of a majority, meaning it needs help from opposition parties to pass the spending plan. With seven seats, the NDP is one party that holds the balance of power.
Speaking Wednesday before Question Period, NDP Interim Leader Don Davies said his caucus has a lot of serious concerns about the budget, noting it raises a lot of questions.
“We’re going to be consulting stakeholders and seeking answers to some of those questions as we deliberate moving forward,” he told reporters.
Tabled on Tuesday, the budget focuses heavily on trying to increase corporate-sector investment, diversify trade and boost Canada’s competitiveness.
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It also looks to reduce the size of the public service by 40,000 people from its peak in 2024. That would happen over five years and is part of a plan to find $60-billion in internal savings. Meanwhile, it also has earmarked billions of dollars for defence.
Alberta MP Heather McPherson is the only elected candidate and therefore will be the only one to actually cast a vote. At this point, she said she would find it difficult to support the budget but is open to working with the government on it.
“I think this is a terrible budget,” she said in an interview. “The things that we see in this budget are supports for big corporations and there is very little for people.”
Ms. McPherson criticized the plan to cut government jobs and programs, as well as $2.7-billion of foreign-aid spending.
She added that she does not see a path in which she would be willing to abstain.
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Asked whether he would vote for the budget were he an MP today, Avi Lewis said he has faith in the NDP caucus.
The leadership candidate said he is confident NDP MPs can figure out how best to act in the best of interests of Canadians.
“I absolutely trust in them to do that, and I don’t think they need a lot of noise from outside,” Mr. Lewis said in an interview. “I am trying to respect that.”
Mr. Lewis criticized the budget in a statement Wednesday, saying in part that “there are vast things that take the country in the wrong direction.” The middle-class tax cut does not provide enough support to really help Canadians struggling with the cost of living, he said.
But the issue of voting for or against the budget is complicated because the decision is not based solely on how MPs feel about the document, he said. The government tabled a budget that is almost defiant, he said, in the sense that the opposition is being challenged to vote against it.
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Referencing the economic situation, he said now is not the time “to play games with the House of Commons to manoeuvre for electoral advantage.”
Labour leader Rob Ashton says he continues to review the budget documents, but at this point, he would not vote in support of it were he an MP.
“I would definitely vote a budget like this down,” the candidate said in an interview. “It doesn’t do anything for workers. There’s no job guarantees for workers. There is no real enforcement on subsidies for corporations. The EI stuff is garbage.”
He said he trusts the NDP caucus’ judgment to make the right decision and added that it should act how it likes regardless of the election risk.
Candidate Tanille Johnston, who is from We Wai Kai First Nation, said in a statement that the budget “will only enable the perpetuation of neglect” for Indigenous people and it “targets” international students. A spokesperson said Ms. Johnston would vote no if she were an MP.
Farmer Tony McQuail, another NDP candidate, was also critical, but did not directly indicate if he would vote yes or no on it.
“Let’s put it this way,” he said in an interview. “If I were the prime minister, it certainly wouldn’t be the budget I would be bringing in.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Tanille Johnston’s first name.