On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration escaped a third motion of no confidence in as many months, which was introduced by his primary Tory opponent.
To reject the resolution 180-152, the New Democratic Party (NDP), a tiny leftist group that had previously sided with the reigning Liberals, backed the minority Liberal government.
Since ending their collaboration in late August, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has criticised Trudeau, calling him “too weak, too selfish.” This was repeated in the proposal’s content.
Singh and Trudeau did not attend the voting.
The House of Commons has been deadlocked most of this fall session by an unprecedented two-month filibuster by the Conservatives.
But Speaker Greg Fergus, in a rare move, ordered a short break in the deadlock to allow for this and other possible confidence votes, and for lawmakers to vote on a key spending measure.
The spending plan, which includes money for disaster relief, social services, and support for Ukraine, comes up for a vote by MPs on Tuesday.
Since the NDP shattered its coalition deal with the Liberals, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has been hankering after an election call, and he now leads the polls by 20 points.
However, up until now, the NDP and other opposition parties—whose backing is necessary to overthrow the Liberals—have refused to assist the Conservatives.
In September and October, the Tories attempted two no-confidence motions, but the Liberals were defeated by the NDP and the separatist Bloc Quebecois.
A ruling party in Canada’s Westminster parliamentary system needs to keep the support of a majority of members in order to preserve the confidence of the House of Commons.
At the moment, the Liberals own 153 seats, while the Conservatives hold 119, the Bloc Quebecois holds 33, and the NDP holds 25.
After winning a landslide victory in 2015, Trudeau has held onto power until two elections in 2019 and 2021.
