NDP's Singh hopeful party can work with Trudeau
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The leader of Canada's opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), Jagmeet Singh, said on Thursday he was hopeful he could work with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government.
Singh's comments, after meeting Trudeau, were the strongest indication yet that his left-leaning party would help keep the prime minister in power.
The Liberals lost their majority in last month's election and need the support of other parties to govern.
"I am hopeful after the meeting that there is an opportunity for us to work together," Singh told reporters, adding he wanted to see the government take concrete action to boost coverage for prescription drugs and to fight climate change.
The Liberals and the left-leaning NDP together hold 181 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons elected chamber, more than enough to push through legislation.
"We know that the government is going to need our support at some level if they want to pass bills ... I want to make it clear that that's not going to come for free," said Singh.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer, writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
