Canada govt in risk: All about Jagmeet Singh, chief of NDP which withdrew support for Justin Trudeau's govt

In a shocker, the Canada government led by Justin Trudeau on Wednesday suffered a blow when the Jagmeet Singh-led New Democratic Party (NDP) withdrew its support. Canada is now treading in uncertain waters as the NDP helped keep the Trudeau government alive. 

Trudeau, however, has denied any possibility of early elections in the country. As per the Canadian law, elections will be conducted in Canada by the end of October 2025. NDP's Singh said that he was 'ripping up' the deal struck between Trudeau and him in 2022. 

With this, Trudeau is now left with only one -- to cobble up new alliances to lead Canada. As the NDP has left Trudeau and his minority government, now is a good time to know more about its leader Jagmeet Singh. 

Who is Jagmeet Singh, the man who pulled Trudeau's strings? 

Singh was the right-hand man of Trudeau before his party withdrew support from the minority government in Canada. He became the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 2017 after succeeding Tom Muclair.

The NDP lawmaker also has the distinction of being the first person of a visible minority group to lead a major Canadian federal political party. Before entering the federal political arena, Singh was a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario from 2011-17.

In 2019, he won a seat in the House of Commons as the MP for Burnaby South in British Columbia. As an MP, Jagmeet Singh bats for progressive policies including but not limited to affordable housing, climate action, healthcare reform especially expanding pharmacare and dental care, and addressing income inequality. 

The NDP, under Singh's leadership, has been vocal about racial justice, indigenous rights and combating systemic racism in Canada. Trudeau and Jagmeet turned into partners from rivals in 2021 when Trudeau's Liberal Party was able to form government with support of Jagmeet-led NDP.

Singh married fashion designer Gurkiran Kaur in 2018 and the couple welcomed their first child in 2022. 

Singh's hint at Canada PM contest

Even though Jagmeet and his party helped form the Trudeau government, Singh was frustrated with the Canadian PM in recent years. In a viral video, Singh said that he was upset with Trudeau over high grocery prices. 

He also accused Trudeau of caving in to corporate greed. This video is also being seen as Jagmeet Singh's hint to contest for the top post. Singh can be seen saying in the video: "Liberals have led people down - they don't deserve another chance."

Jagmeet Singh's Khalistan support

Jagmeet Singh and controversies go hand in hand due to his vocal support for Khalistan, which prompted Trudeau's government to brazenly patronise Khalistani elements on Canadian soil.

Since Trudeau's government was dependent on NDP's support, he has to agree to Singh's anti-India agenda. During this time, Trudeau prove to be helping Singh as he acquiesced to Jagmeet's efforts at galvanising the Khalistani voter base.

Singh also has association with Khalistani leaders, a fact that came to the fore a few days after he was elected as the leader of the NDP.

The cat was out of the bag when senior journalist Terry Milewski asked him whether it was appropriate for Sikh gurudwaras in Canada to display posters hailing Talwinder Singh Parmar, the mastermind of the 1985 Air India bombing, as a martyr. 

Right after Trudeau accused India of getting Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar killed, Jagmeet supported the slain Khalistani separatist. He also issued a statement against PM Narendra Modi. 

"I will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of justice, including holding Narendra Modi accountable," Singh said at the time.