Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet speaks during a meeting of his caucus in the parliamentary precinct in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
The Bloc Québécois says it will vote against a Conservative Party non-confidence motion next week, meaning the minority Liberal government will survive its first test since the demise of its parliamentary co-operation deal with the NDP.
Speculation regarding a potential fall election had increased in recent days after the NDP’s announcement to pull its automatic support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, followed by Monday’s by-election results that saw the Liberals lose a Montreal riding that had long been considered a safe seat for the party.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre released the wording of a motion Wednesday morning that his party will put to a vote next week and he strongly urged the Bloc and the NDP to side with him and trigger a fall election campaign.
Under the House of Commons rules, opposition parties are given a handful of days in which they may set the agenda for the day and force a vote on a motion of their choosing.
The government has said it has tentatively scheduled an opposition day for the Conservative Party on Tuesday, which would trigger a debate and then a vote on the Wednesday.
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One week in advance of that vote, the Conservatives released the planned wording for the opposition day. It states: “The House has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the Government.”
Should the motion pass, parliamentary convention would suggest that the Prime Minister would be required to request a federal election campaign.
Both the NDP and the Bloc have enough MPs to defeat the Conservative motion on their own should either party vote with the Liberals.
But rather than stretch out the political drama over the government’s fate, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party will vote against the motion just hours after the wording was announced.
“Will the Bloc Québécois vote in favour of the Conservative motion next week? The answer is no,” Mr. Blanchet told reporters in French at a news conference on Parliament Hill. “The motion doesn’t contain anything. It essentially says, ‘Do you want to replace Justin Trudeau with Pierre Poilievre?’ The answer is no.”
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Mr. Blanchet said the Bloc will focus on securing policy gains from the Liberals, including increased benefits for seniors. He did not provide a timeline for how long his party is willing to vote to avoid an election.
“I know Conservative values. They are not Quebec values,” he said.
The next federal election is scheduled for the fall of 2025 but could happen sooner if the government is defeated on a confidence vote or if the Prime Minister calls an early election.
Prior to Mr. Blanchet’s comments, Mr. Poilievre said the motion is very direct and very simple and repeated his call for what he calls a “carbon-tax election.”
The Conservative Leader later criticized the Bloc, accusing the party of voting for the Liberals and against Quebeckers.
“How can the Bloc abandon Quebeckers to support the most costly and centralizing Prime Minister in Canadian history?” he said in French to begin Question Period.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre arrives to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Mr. Trudeau responded by saying Mr. Poilievre places his own political interests ahead of the interests of Canadians.
“That’s why we will continue to invest in Canadians, continue to be there for Quebeckers to deliver dental care, to deliver more child care spaces and to be there to invest,” he said, adding that a Conservative government would bring in spending cuts and austerity.
The NDP did not comment Wednesday on the Conservative motion. Mr. Singh declined to say last week how his party would vote on a clear non-confidence motion.
Members of Parliament met Wednesday morning for their respective closed-door caucus meetings. The meetings were the first opportunity for MPs to discuss party strategy following Monday’s by-election results, which saw the NDP hold a Winnipeg-area riding, while the Liberals lost a Montreal riding to the Bloc.
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Uncertainty over the future of the minority Liberal government increased after Mr. Singh recently announced that his party has withdrawn from a supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals that saw NDP MPs vote to keep the Liberals in power in exchange for action on specific issues. Mr. Singh said his party will now make decisions on a vote-by-vote basis.
Speaking before the Bloc’s announcement, Karina Gould, the Government House Leader, said she is required to schedule seven opposition days over the coming 11 weeks of sittings.
“There are consequences to the actions that people take. This is real. This is not a game,” she said, before singling out Mr. Singh’s decision to withdraw from the parliamentary co-operation deal with the government.
“It’s up to the opposition parties now to determine what they want to do with Canadians. But I think for Mr. Singh in particular, it’s now going to be on his shoulders as to whether, yet again, in another week, he does exactly what Mr. Poilievre asks or if he’s actually going to stand up for the things that Canadians care about.”