Pierre Poilievre’s attempt to topple the minority Liberal government through a non-confidence motion was met with his political rivals instead attempting to undermine Canadians’ confidence in the Conservative Leader.
The Conservatives’ motion was introduced with much fanfare as the House of Commons began its fall sitting last week. The Bloc Québécois and New Democrats said they’d vote against it, ensuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government remained in power for now.
The debate on the motion took place Tuesday. Mr. Poilievre repeated his standard pitch to restore the “promise of Canada,” which he argues the Liberals, with support from the NDP, have destroyed.
“The biggest and most open land of opportunity the world has ever seen, that is our vision,” he said. “That is our purpose.”
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The Liberals parried back by accusing Mr. Poilievre of being more interested in political stunts than governing, and of being prepared to unleash a policy agenda on Canadians that would markedly change lives for the worse by slashing government spending on social programs.
From the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Mr. Trudeau told reporters that “the Conservatives are very much thinking about power right now; I’m thinking about how we can best help Canadians.”
The confidence motion reflects Mr. Trudeau’s tenuous hold on government. Polls consistently show the Conservatives well ahead. The Liberals lost a seat in a by-election in Quebec just last week, and another in Toronto in June.
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And, with the NDP out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that saw them prop up the Liberals in exchange for action on key NDP priorities, the potential for the government to fall before the next scheduled election in October, 2025, is real.
But the day the government will fall is not expected to be Wednesday, when Mr. Poilievre’s motion will be put to a vote.
Another vote could be just days away, as the Conservatives are expected to have another day to dictate the business of the House of Commons later this week and could introduce another such motion.
Bloc House Leader Alain Therrien said Tuesday he anticipates there could be between five and seven non-confidence votes before Christmas, and the fact there’s time yet to vote down the government is one reason his party is supporting it for now.
Another reason he cited: the Conservatives. Mr. Therrien called Mr. Poilievre a compulsive slogan generator who explains nothing about what he’s going to do.
“We’re not sure we’re tempted to see them quickly arrive in government.” Mr. Therrien said in French.
Now is the time for parties to negotiate with the Liberals, Mr. Therrien said – and that is what his party is doing.
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Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has made increasing the Old Age Security payment for some seniors his party’s top demand of the government in exchange for Bloc support in the House.
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday that the government is in talks with both the Bloc and the NDP on seniors benefits, but didn’t specify whether the government supports that particular payment increase.
The Bloc’s proposal is contained in private member’s Bill C-319, which amends the Old Age Security Act to provide a 10-per-cent boost in benefits for seniors aged 65 to 74. The Liberal government recently implemented such an increase for seniors aged 75 and older.
Implementing the bill would cost $16-billion over five years and more than $3.5-billion a year once fully implemented, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Over the weekend NDP House Leader Peter Julian suggested to CTV News that New Democrats want to see pharmacare legislation pass the Senate before they entertain defeating the Liberals.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the Liberals are “too weak” to stand up to the Conservatives, and he too accused Mr. Poilievre’s party of being poised to make dramatic cuts.
“We think things are bad with Justin Trudeau and they are,” Mr. Singh said Tuesday.
“But it would be even worse with Pierre Poilievre.”
With a report from Bill Curry in Ottawa.
