In March 2022, we were in one of the most turbulent periods in recent Canadian history. Our country was still emerging from lockdowns and reeling from the unprecedented invocation of the Emergencies Act, necessary to end the occupation of our capital and reopen border crossings blocked by far-right protests.

Faced with instability and deep division, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needed a way to shore up his minority government. He reached across the aisle to New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, and together they made a bold decision to form Canada’s first formal federal confidence and supply agreement—a partnership that has since delivered transformative results for Canadians. 

Now, two million more Canadians have access to dental care. After decades of hard work by labour advocates, anti-scab legislation is finally law at the federal level, preventing employers from using replacement workers to break strikes. 

The passage of the Sustainable Jobs Act means that workers will sit at the decision-making table as Canada transitions to a low-carbon economy. As we ramp up our fight against climate change, workers will have a say in the future of work.

And in a time when Big Pharma continues to prioritize profits over people, we are now only one Senate vote away from establishing a publicly funded, publicly delivered, and universal pharmacare program in Canada. In a few short months, Canadians will be able to get free birth control and free diabetes medications and devices.

While the opposition focused on stoking division, Liberal and NDP cooperation has delivered historic progress on housing, a national school food program, and tax fairness. These are not just political victories; they are real, tangible achievements that will have a lasting impact on the lives of millions of Canadians.

Fruitful as it was, this partnership was not without its challenges. 

The NDP’s calls to crack down on price gouging brought only weak action from the Liberal government. The government's recent use of binding arbitration in rail workers’ negotiations went against the agreement’s commitment to respect free and fair bargaining rights. 

After two productive years, the agreement has run its course. 

Its end doesn’t immediately trigger an election – nor should it. But it does raise the political temperature in Ottawa and bring the contrasts between the parties into sharp focus. 

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has spent two years talking down this agreement, voting against measures to provide free dental and prescription medication, and attempting to downplay the importance of these programs that are already benefiting millions of Canadians.

Poilievre's belated support of anti-scab legislation, seen as pivotal by some, must be viewed in the context of his twenty-year political record. He has consistently voted for back-to-work legislation in Parliament and personally led some of the worst legislative attacks on the labour movement in the last two decades. 

To this day his policy book commits to bringing U.S.-style “right-to-work” laws to Canada which would make it harder for workers to join a union.

Poilievre has never walked a picket line and remained notably silent when the government took away rail workers' right to a fair bargaining process just last month. 

The Conservatives can talk about workers and unions all they like when it’s easy, but a good look at their record shows clearly where their loyalties lie when the chips are down—with bosses and billionaires, not everyday workers. 

Canadians will face a crucial choice in the next election. As we look ahead, we need leaders who will genuinely advocate for workers and come together to solve the problems facing Canadians. We need leaders who will take on the housing crisis with investment, leaders who will fund public healthcare, strengthen pensions, and fix our employment insurance system, not cut them. 

The end of this historic confidence and supply agreement doesn’t have to mark the end of the progress that it started. Now is the time for parties to present a compelling and positive vision for the future backed up by a real commitment to the Canadian workers building it.

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

Bea Bruske is the President of the Canadian Labour Congress, representing over three million workers in Canada.