EDITORIAL: What do we need? An election. When do we want it? Now!

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The unmitigated hypocrisy of New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh during the recent chaotic days in Parliament is breathtaking.

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau contemplates his political future (spoiler alert: he doesn’t have one), Singh is calling on him to resign.

“People are right to be angry,” Singh told the House of Commons. “They have a prime minister who is more interested in protecting his own job than defending Canadians against Trump. He has to quit.”

Singh has the wherewithal to put this dreadful government out of its misery, yet he’s consistently refused to support non-confidence votes that would have done just that.

Voters gave Trudeau and his Liberals only a tepid minority government in 2021. They should have governed with caution. More voters cast their ballots for the Conservatives than Liberals. Minority governments should work as a check-and-balance on whoever’s in power. The now-defunct “supply and confidence” deal became a de facto coalition NDP-Liberal government. And it kept Trudeau in power too long.

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Now, with Canada weakened by the turmoil on Parliament Hill, Singh calls on Trudeau to resign. Like the Liberals, he’s put his personal ambitions ahead of this country’s urgent needs.

At a time when we need strength to fight incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs, this country has become the international butt of jokes. Trump is trolling us about becoming the 51st state. And it’s all down to the egos of two people — Singh and Trudeau — who refuse to move on and let someone else take the helm. Instead of strength and unity, our politics are dominated by internal squabbles.

If Trudeau resigned, it would set in motion a leadership race that would delay his departure and allow the NDP to drag its feet into an election. If the government fell on a non-confidence vote, it would almost certainly trigger an immediate election, which is what this country desperately needs. But this is the Liberal/NDP coalition that pushed back the fixed date of the next election by a week, thus ensuring dozens of MPs qualify for a full pension.

Singh has become Trudeau’s co-conspirator as they both put personal ambition above national interests. Singh must cease that immediately and vote to defeat this government at the earliest opportunity.