Liberals Fail to Pass No-Confidence Motion
Motion to Defeat the Conservative Government is Unsuccessful
Oct 1, 2009
The Liberal no-confidence motion, put forth earlier today, went down on a vote of 144-117. The Liberals and Bloc Québecois voted against the Harper government, and the NDP caucus skipped the vote, putting the win in the hands of the Tories.
Today, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff introduced the long-anticipated Liberal party no-confidence motion in the Canadian House of Commons. The move was an attempt by Ignatieff and his party to regain their stature and force as the opposition. However, in the wake of recent events in Canadians politics, namely the NDP support of the government and the resignation of Quebec Liberal lieutenant Denis Coderre, the Liberals looked weak coming into the vote.
Events that Led to a Failed Motion
NDP leader Jack Layton pledged a week ago that his party would vote with the Conservatives, ensuring the safety of their government in the event of a non-confidence vote. In a special piece published in the Ottawa Citizen, Layton explained that the decision to support the government was grounded in the best interests of Canadians, as Harper’s proposed Employment Insurance initiatives were more important than an election. His party has been the subject of public criticism, suggesting they are bowing to political opportunism after Layton affirmed in a June press conference that his party would continue to not support the government in confidence motions. This latest move is very different from the party’s usual tactics.
Earlier this week, high-powered Quebec Liberal Denis Coderre resigned from his provincial lieutenant post, criticizing the party for allowing Toronto strategists to run the agenda in Quebec. He claimed that Ignatieff’s closest and most important advisers do not understand the nature of Quebec politics and culture. The resignation has been fuelled by rumours that Coderre is actively seeking the Liberal leadership and that he has been scuffling with other party members over Quebec nominations behind the scenes. Whatever his motivation, Coderre has forced Ignatieff to spend the week defending himself and smoothing the feathers of what appears to be yet another Liberal civil war.
Debate in the House of Commons
Opening debate on the motion in the House, Michael Ignatieff slammed the track record of the Harper government. According to the Globe and Mail, he suggested that the government was incompetent and untrustworthy; Ignatieff argued that the Harper government took public finances from a balanced budget to a $56-billion deficit in a year, and that it is changing estimates of the expected shortfall from month to month. He further argued that the government has no real plan to boost Canada’s economic recovery.
At the moment, it is unclear how the Liberals' attempt to force an election will reflect in the polls.
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