Canada’s opposition New Democrats say they can back PM Trudeau, but rule out coalition

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OTTAWA (Reuters) -The leader of Canada’s opposition New Democrats on Tuesday ruled out a formal deal to keep the minority Liberal government in power but added he was willing to work with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“There are things we agree on,” Jagmeet Singh told a news conference when asked about media reports that the two center-left parties might come to an agreement to keep Trudeau in power for three years.

Trudeau fell short of winning a majority in September’s election and needs the backing of opposition lawmakers to push legislation through the House of Commons. Minority governments in Canada rarely last more than two years.

Singh said he wanted to see real action from the Liberals to make housing more affordable and fight climate change.

“We are prepared to work together to deliver help for people, but there is no agreement, there is no formal or informal agreement,” he said.

Canada has never had a formal peacetime coalition in which two parties split ministries between them, and Singh said he had no interest in the idea.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney)