OTTAWA—NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday that he has not spoken with the prime minister about working together in the incoming minority parliament as he tries to figure out how to influence the government with his reduced contingent of MPs.

Stepping out from his first meeting with his new caucus, Singh said no one from the Liberal government has reached out to his party to discuss co-operation in the House of Commons, but that he believes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should contact him.

He also acknowledged the NDP will have to work without a deal to share power with the Liberal minority, now that Trudeau has ruled out any formal or informal coalition.

But Singh insisted his party can still push the government on its priorities through “public pressure” and arguing it is the only partner who can work with the Liberals on national programs that are also “progressive.”

To that end, Singh laid out two “challenges” for Trudeau’s government. He said the NDP will table a bill at the first opportunity that would set the “framework” for a universal public pharmacare program for all Canadians.

He also called on the Liberals to “immediately drop” the government’s appeal of a human rights tribunal ruling to compensate tens of thousands of First Nations children and their families harmed by what was deemed as chronically-underfunded child welfare services.

With 157 seats out of 338 in the House of Commons, the Liberals need the support of at least one other official party — the NDP, Bloc Québécois or Conservatives — to stay in power. But Singh would not say whether he would refuse to support the Liberals if his demands aren’t met.

“Our first step is to put out our challenge, and we’re going to put public pressure on this,” he said.

“A lot of Canadians wanted to see this government work with other parties. They need to work with other parties. We’re putting out some clear conditions, some clear areas that we think need to be advanced.”

The NDP won 24 ridings in the Oct. 21 election after starting the campaign with 39 seats in the House. Singh once again hailed the result as a success on Wednesday, boasting to reporters: “You saw the campaign, I thought it was a pretty good job.”

But Singh also acknowledged there were shortcomings — particularly in Quebec, where the NDP lost 13 seats, and Toronto, where the party was shut out entirely.

Tracey Ramsey, an outgoing MP who lost her seat outside Windsor, said “it’s very sad to see so many amazing MPs” lose their seats, but defended the NDP’s campaign as a success nonetheless.

“I don’t believe there’s anything we could have done differently,” she said. “I just believe people still need to get to know Jagmeet and our policies, and I’m excited to see where we go from here.”

Matthew Dubé was the NDP’s caucus chair in the last parliament, and lost his riding near Montreal to Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet. Like Ramsey, Dubé said Singh should remain as leader because he believes people warmed to him through the campaign.

But Dubé warned the party needs to be “cautious about self-congratulations,” suggesting Singh’s election night dance party at a hotel ballroom in his home riding was inappropriate given how many New Democrat lost their seats.

“We need to recognize it was a tough election,” he said. “I don’t want the leader to change who he is. I think the way he lives life, his joie-de-vivre, his approach to these things, his style — I think this is something people appreciate very much. But there’s a time and a place for things, and I don’t think that was the time and the place for that.”

Alexandre Boulerice, the lone New Democrat to hang on in Quebec, said strategic voting and the Bloc’s association with Quebec’s provincial government hurt the party in the province. He added Singh’s identity as a Sikh who wears a turban also may have inflamed “certain tensions” for Quebecers who support Bill 21, the provincial law that bans many public sector workers from wearing such religious symbols.

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Even so, Boulerice said Singh ran a “formidable campaign” that he can build on as leader.

“Maybe it wasn’t translated into votes this time, but next time it will be,” he said.

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