Trudeau wants to avoid confrontations with political opposition

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will seek to avoid big confrontations with other parties when he unveils plans for his new minority government next month, the leader of an opposition party said today.

The news comes after a one-on-one meeting with Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet.

Trudeau’s Liberals lost their parliamentary majority in an election last month and must now try to govern with the support of other parties.

He is due to present his priorities to the House of Commons elected chamber in early December.

“What I understood from what Mr Trudeau told me is that there will be a lot of elements … which could bring together many people in Parliament,” Blanchet told reporters.

“I think the government will avoid the worst potential areas of conflict,” he said after what he called a friendly 45-minute talk with Trudeau.

The Bloc, which seeks independence for the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec, could collaborate with the Liberals in areas such as fighting climate change and improving the lives of senior citizens, Blanchet said.

That said, working with a separatist party is politically sensitive, and Trudeau is more likely to seek common ground with the minority left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP).

He is scheduled to meet NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on Thursday.

Content compiled by Jack Anderson.