Jagmeet Singh, Key Trudeau Ally, Abandons Him in Fresh Blow to Canada’s Government

Jagmeet Singh, Key Trudeau Ally, Abandons Him in Fresh Blow to Canada’s Government 1

The leader of the party that supported Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party vowed to bring down the government, saying Mr. Trudeau had failed Canada.

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada tried to reverse his plunging fortunes on Friday by rearranging his cabinet, a key political ally called Mr. Trudeau a failed leader and vowed to bring down his government.

Jagmeet Singh, whose New Democratic Party has provided Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal Party with the votes it needed to move legislation through Parliament, released a scathing letter promising to bring a motion to defeat the government in the House of Commons after Parliament returns from a holiday break next month.

“The Trudeau Liberals said a lot of the right things,” Mr. Singh wrote. “Then they let people down again and again. Justin Trudeau failed in his biggest job as prime minister: to work for the people.”

“The Liberals,’’ he added, “don’t deserve another chance.”

The Conservative Party is likely to back any such motion, which, if passed, would lead to an immediate general election.

Mr. Singh’s rejection of the government comes as Mr. Trudeau is grappling with how to stave off threats by President-elect Donald J. Trump to impose potentially damaging 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico unless the two countries curb the flow of undocumented migrants and drugs into the United States.

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party, vowed on Friday to bring down Mr. Trudeau’s government.Blair Gable/Reuters