Trudeau govt likely to survive no confidence vote as key party withdraws support

The Liberal Party government has been reduced to minority status in the House, which currently has a strength of 336

Toronto: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is expected to survive a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons next week as the third largest formation in the chamber announced it will not support the motion.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (REUTERS)

The opposition Conservative Party moved the motion on Wednesday. It simply states, “The House has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the government.”

The Liberal Party government has been reduced to minority status in the House, which currently has a strength of 336. Earlier this month, the New Democratic Party (NDP) pulled out of the Supply and Confidence Agreement, signed in March 2022, which had given the government a working majority.

The Liberals have 154 MPs while the Conservatives have 119. The latter moved the motion on Wednesday for a vote next week, but it now appears that the immediate survival of the Trudeau government will be guaranteed by the separatist party, Bloc Québécois.

Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet told the media on Wednesday that his party will oppose the motion. Speaking in French, he said, “Will the Bloc vote in favour of the Conservative motion next week? The answer is no.”

The Bloc, which supports independence for the Francophone province of Quebec, has already indicated it will extract benefits from the government in exchange for its support. With that stance and its 33 MPs, the position will make the motion is defeated and renders moot the option chosen by the NDP.

While Federal elections are scheduled for October 2025, the Conservatives are clearly focused on forcing them earlier. That stands to reason as, according to the voter tracker of the public polling agency Angus Reid Institute (ARI), it has 43 per cent support, a whopping 22 point lead over the Liberals.