Trudeau and Singh announce a deal Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh announced a deal Tuesday that ought to keep the Liberals in power until 2025, which has changed the political landscape all of a sudden. What it is: The CBC has a good overview from Peter Zimonjic on the "supply-and-confidence" agreement and how it might work. What it isn't: This is not a coalition, Rachel Aiello points out in a piece for CTV. How it happened: CP has an interesting tiktok on how the deal was made, beginning with a phone call from Trudeau to Singh to congratulate him on the birth of his child. They chatted during the convoy, and then more often after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And so they began to meet in earnest â more than half a dozen times, just the two of them. Sometimes it was on a video call, sometimes on the phone and sometimes in person. In between meetings, staff would work to get their agreements into writing. Last week, they met one final time at Rideau Cottage, which is where Trudeau lives with his family, for a lengthy discussion that brought all the big issues to a close. Dental questions: The Globe has a good breakdown on what the new federal dental program might mean, although there are as yet more questions than answers. There are a lot of takes. Sunny ways: Writing for the Globe, Paul Wells notes that if Trudeau "is held to a deal with Mr. Singh that demands bounties of prescription drugs and dental care, Mr. Trudeau can stick with the sunny ways," which seems to be how he is wired. Good for JT: In the Star, Susan Delacourt observes that it does seem to be good deal for Trudeau, who, with the help of the NDP, "can stretch out his tenure as prime minister to at least a decade, as Stephen Harper nearly did from early 2006 to late 2015 and Jean Chrétien did from 1993 to 2003." Cheap date? In the Post, Chris Selley opines that it is not a good deal for Singh, who "either knows something the rest of us donât, or he is a very cheap and gullible date." NDP is dead? In the Toronto Sun, Warren Kinsella goes further, writing that Singh "has folded the once-proud party of Jack Layton and Ed Broadbent into the welcoming arms of the PMO, and his NDP accordingly no longer exists." Tory reaction: In the Globe, John Ibbitson writes that the deal presents a "splendid opportunity for the Conservatives, if they can let go of their anger." Business reaction to the arrangement is mixed, the Post reports. Chequebook budget: In Quebec, a new provincial budget, and not the new federal governing arrangement, dominated the news. Finance Minister Eric Girard announced a $500 "one-time payment will benefit 6.4 million Quebecers who had a net income of $100,000 or less last year," the Gazette reports. In La Presse, Paul Journet writes that the Legault government appears to be postponing any tough choices until after the election, which is scheduled for October (translation). For war: A majority of Canadians would support declaring war if Russia invades another country, a Nanos poll in the Globe has found. Many would support war even without further aggression from Russia. Thirty-two per cent of respondents oppose entering the conflict, and 13 per cent somewhat oppose joining the fray. Twenty-one per cent would support fighting Russia over Ukraine, and another 26 per cent would somewhat support this course of action. Votes in the centre: Nanos has another poll, for CTV, that shows many Canadians would support a socially progressive and economically centrist CPC. Bad for Stefanson: The Manitoba PCs were in a tight byelection race Tuesday night for the seat Brian Pallister gave up when he left government, which looks like a grim omen for Premier Heather Stefanson. âStephen Maher | 
