Friday, 7 November 2025

Federal government survives second confidence vote amid two Conservative MPs leaving

 
 
 

Liberal budget clears second confidence hurdle as MPs head into break week

House voted down Bloc and Conservative amendments that called for budget to be rejected

 
Darren Major · CBC News ·
A large clocktower and construction cranes are scene in the background, framed by stone columns in the foreground.Votes on the budget are considered matters of confidence, meaning Canadians could be headed back to the polls if the opposition MPs outvote the government. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government survived its second confidence vote in two days after MPs voted down a Bloc amendment calling on the House to reject the Liberals’ budget.

The Liberals and Conservatives voted against the amendment which said the House shouldn’t accept the budget, specifically because it didn’t meet the Bloc Québécois demands. The NDP voted with the Bloc.

A similar vote took place on Thursday evening that called for the House to reject the budget because it didn’t satisfy the Conservatives. The Liberals, Bloc and NDP all voted against that sub-amendment.

Such votes are usually just procedural and occur without much fanfare — traditionally opposition parties introduce amendments to reject the government’s fiscal plan after every budget.

But the Liberals have been signalling over the past month that they aren’t confident they could garner support for the budget, putting heightened attention on these amendment votes.

Budget votes are treated as confidence votes, meaning if the government loses Canadians could be heading to another election.

Although it’s rare, such budget amendment votes have brought down governments in the past — most recently in 1979 when former prime minister Joe Clark’s short-lived government failed to get support for its budget.

WATCH | The day Joe Clark's government fell:
 
 The fall of Joe Clark's government
December 13, 1979|
Duration 0:17
 
The CBC's Knowlton Nash briefly recaps the fall of the Joe Clark-led PC government.

MPs have a one-week recess next week for Remembrance Day. MPs are expected to vote on whether or not to approve the budget when they return the following Monday.

Thursday and Friday’s votes don't necessarily mean opposition MPs would support the budget itself. The Conservatives already said they won’t, and the Bloc signalled that it likely won’t either.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May — who voted in favour of the Bloc's amendment on Friday — said she’d need to see serious changes to the budget to support the Liberals, while the NDP seems to be mulling its options.

Procedural mix-up

The Liberal government tabled the budget on Tuesday. It calls for billions of dollars in new spending to help prop up an economy hit hard by U.S. tariffs, along with cuts to the public service that the government says would lead to billions of dollars in savings.

Traditionally, the Official Opposition leader moves the main amendment to the budget after their speech to the House of Commons. The third party then has a chance to add a sub-amendment.

But Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre finished his speech without moving an amendment and Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet jumped at the chance to introduce his own.

Conservatives have been pushing a few key demands for the budget, which included scrapping the industrial carbon tax and keeping the deficit below $42 billion.

The Bloc has been calling for measures such as an increase to federal health transfer to the provinces, and a boost to Old Age Security (OAS) payments for those aged 65 to 74.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 
Darren Major

Senior writer

Darren Major is a senior writer for CBC's parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. He previously worked as a digital reporter for CBC Ottawa and a producer for CBC's Power & Politics. He holds a master's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in public affairs and policy management, both from Carleton University. He also holds master's degree in arts from Queen's University. He can be reached at darren.major@cbc.ca.

With files from The Canadian Press

 

 
 
 

Federal government survives second confidence vote amid two Conservative MPs leaving

 
Nov 7, 2025 
Political commentator Scott Reid says rumours continue to circulate that more Conservative MPs could cross the floor or resign as budget discussions continue. 
 

77 Comments

  
Things have changed
YouTube claims 26 comments but I only see ONE???  
 
 Methinks Scott Reid would be surprised if a few liberals from the Maritimes quit their caucus and sat as Independents before the vote on the budget If they did so they would become very powerful N'esy Pas?
 
 
 Surprise Surprise Surprise
 
 
 
 
 

‘Pierre Poilievre is having a bad week’ | Reid on recent Conservative MP stepping down

 
Nov 7, 2025 
CTV’s Political Commentator Scott Reid reacts to another Conservative MP leaving the party in the wake of the unveiling of the Liberal government's budget.

257 Comments

The plot thickens
 
 
 
 
 

Justice Minister Fraser says the budget frees up capital to invest in growing the economy

 
Nov 5, 2025 
Justice Minister Sean Fraser discusses MP d’Entremont joining the Liberals, budget talks with the opposition, future impacts, and the need for defence spending.
 

29 Comments

  
Sean Fraser cannot deny that his ethical computer acknowledged my Nov 4th email BEFORE d’Entremont crossed the floor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Analyst says federal budget has been 'over-hyped and under-delivered'

 
Nov 6, 2025 
Justice Minister Sean Fraser discusses MP d’Entremont joining the Liberals, budget talks with the opposition, future impacts, and the need for defence spending.
 

34 Comments

  
If Carney's lawyer buddy Marco or any of the others were truly in the know then they would try to explain the email I sent to the NDP and many others on Nov 4th BEFORE Chrissy Baby crossed the floor
 
 
Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney cannot deny that several ethical computers acknowledged my Nov 4th email BEFORE d’Entremont crossed the floor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Federal budget an 'improvement,' but 'didn't quite hit the mark': analyst | Alberta Primetime

 
Nov 6, 2025 
Adam Legge, the president of the Business Council of Alberta, talks about how the Alberta business community feels about the federal budget, what's missing from the budget and the state of the relationship between Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
 

19 Comments

  
Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney cannot deny that several ethical computers acknowledged my Nov 4th email BEFORE d’Entremont crossed the floor
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)