New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says the holiday travel woes that left thousands of passengers stranded at airports or struggling to find flights home show why there should be more competition in Canada’s airspace.

He says the lack of choice for passengers is also making flying less affordable, and he’s calling on the Liberal government to find ways to make the airline industry more competitive.

The Conservative party joined the New Democrats to jointly request an urgent House of Commons committee meeting with the federal transport minister.

Liberal member of Parliament Peter Schiefke, who chairs the House of Commons transport committee, said in a tweet on Tuesday that he planned to invite the CEOs of Sunwing Airlines and VIA Rail to testify.

NDP transport critic Taylor Bachrach says he wants to see Transport Minister Omar Alghabra answer questions, too.

Bachrach, Conservative critic Mark Strahl and the other three Tories on the committee signed the letter requesting an urgent meeting.

According to House procedure, the chair is now required to call a meeting to consider the request within five days.

The Canadian Transportation Agency requires domestic air service operators to be majority-owned and controlled by Canadians, limiting options for travellers – especially in rural or remote areas.

Over the holidays, hundreds of people were stranded in Mexico when Sunwing cancelled flights, and the airline has stopped flying from Saskatchewan entirely until next month.

Air Canada is also discontinuing flights from Saskatoon and Regina to Calgary this month, after it discontinued flights from Yellowknife to Edmonton last year.

Singh says he wants the CEOs of both companies to answer questions at a future transport committee meeting, but that Transport Minister Omar Alghabra should also ensure there’s better oversight.