OTTAWA –
Members of Parliament will cast their first confidence vote of the fall sitting on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is back in Ottawa and expected to be in the House of Commons for the vote, which is scheduled for after question period.
The test of his Liberal government was brought through a Conservative opposition day motion, tabled by Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Writing on social media this morning, Poilievre set up the vote as a choice “to give Canadians the carbon tax election they want.”
The question MPs are being asked to vote on this afternoon is brief: do they agree that “the House has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the government”?
Stating they aren’t yet ready to help Poilievre force Canadians into an early election that polling indicates the Conservatives would likely win, the Bloc Quebecois and NDP have said they won’t support the motion.
Both NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet have indicated a desire to try to first leverage their votes for policy action before playing a part in toppling Trudeau.
As those parties hold the balance of power in this minority Parliament, the prime minister is expected to have the votes to maintain the confidence of the House and continue governing.
MPs spent the better part of Tuesday debating the non-confidence motion.
During the debate, Conservatives urged their colleagues not to make Canadians wait for change. The parties opposing the proposal voiced concerns about what Poilievre would do as prime minister.
Under the current minority dynamics — without the parliamentary pact that saw the NDP prop them up on confidence votes — the Liberals are likely to face more attempts to bring them down.
The next high-stakes vote may come early next week, as the Liberals have assigned the Conservatives their second opposition day of the sitting this Thursday, with the vote scheduled for the Tuesday following.
Poilievre has given the House notice of a pair of potential motions he could present for debate, both include variations of wording indicating the House has lost confidence in the government.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.