Singh styles NDP-Liberal deal the ‘Anhad Accord’ after his daughter

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has revealed that his party calls the pact he made with Justin Trudeau the “Anhad Accord” after his baby daughter. 

In his most personal public remarks yet about his motivation behind the deal with the Liberals, Singh said the pact was about helping “to create the world I want to leave for her.”

Singh said his perspective changed after becoming a father for the first time in January and he often imagined what the world would be like for his daughter when she reaches 12.

He said he and those around him have styled the deal after his daughter, whose Sikh name Anhad means limitless. 

“Each time she says her name or hears her name I want her to be reminded that she is limitless,” he said.

Singh told an audience at the Canadian Club in Toronto that all parents should be able to hope there are no upper limits on what their children can achieve.

“The Anhad Accord, the limitless accord” was “so all children can live their lives in a limitless way,” he said, and not be held back by issues such as the cost of going to the dentist. 

Singh disclosed he wanted to secure an agreement with Trudeau to enhance co-operation between the two parties right after the September 2021 election but the talks didn’t progress. 

Talks were kick-started, his office said last month, after the Prime Minister called Singh to personally congratulate him on the birth of his daughter in January. The conversation was so cordial they both agreed to pursue negotiations. 

The confidence and supply pact ties the NDP into supporting the Liberal minority government until 2025, and voting for their budget and on confidence votes. 

In return, the Liberals are backing a string of NDP priorities including funding for affordable dental care and medication.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2022. 

Marie Woolf, The Canadian Press