Bloc Says There Will be ‘Other Chances’ to Vote Against Liberals During Debate on Non-Confidence Motion

Bloc Quebecois MP and House Leader of the Bloc Québécois Alain Therrien rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Oct. 5, 2023. Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press

As the House of Commons debated an upcoming Conservative non-confidence motion that is likely to fail, a Bloc Quebecois MP said his party will have “other chances” to vote against the Liberals and bring about an early election.

Since the NDP ended its supply-and-confidence agreement with the minority Liberal government, and as the Conservatives are looking for an election as early as possible, the Bloc in many ways currently holds the balance of power in the House of Commons.

During the Sept. 24 debate, Bloc House Leader Alain Therrien reiterated that his party would not vote for the motion because it wants to make gains from the minority Liberals that would benefit the province of Quebec. But he also indicated that while the Bloc wants to give the Liberals “the chance to show us that they deserve our confidence,” and that the party may change its stance.

“There are going to be a lot of confidence votes between now and Christmas. We are in a situation where there will be other chances to bring down the government. So we’re saying, let’s give the government a chance,” he said, noting the minority government can survive a “maximum” of a year before the next scheduled election.

Debate on the Conservatives’ non-confidence motion is expected to wrap up on the morning of Sept. 25, with the vote being held in the afternoon. A successful motion would lead to the government being defeated and Canadians heading into a fall election.

However, both the Bloc and the NDP have said they will not vote in favour of the motion. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who weeks earlier cancelled the supply-and-confidence agreement he signed with the Liberals back in 2022, said he didn’t want to “play Pierre Poilievre’s games.”

Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said his party is “at the service of Quebecers,” and not Conservatives, saying the motion amounted to a vote “to replace Justin Trudeau with Pierre Poilievre.”

Speaking before the House on Sept. 24, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the Liberal government had broken the “promise of Canada” by failing to balance the budget, keep taxes lower for the middle class, and maintain affordable housing. He pledged to get rid of the federal carbon tax, fight climate change by approving large-scale green projects involving nuclear and hydro energy, and repeal the government’s “anti-development” laws to promote oil and gas production.

Poilievre also took jabs at the Bloc for not voting against the Liberals in the non-confidence motion.

“They want the federal government to have even more control over the health care of the province of Quebec, and they recognize that federal programs are essential for Quebecers, which goes against their desire for sovereignty,” he said.

Liberal House Leader Karina Gould defended her government’s performance, saying the government had put Canadians “at the core of everything we have done” for the last nine years.

She said her party understands that for many Canadians, “making ends meet is a challenge right now,” which is why they had put forth policies that “help make that a little bit easier.”

“We do not believe, like the Conservatives opposite, the Canadians should be left to their own devices, to fend for themselves, to be left on their own in times of need,” she said.

Debate

Singh told the House of Commons that his party would not support the non-confidence motion because he said a Conservative government would cut funding for health care, dental care, and pharmacare. “There is a cost to Conservatives, and that cost is people pay the price,” he said.

Current polls show that if an election were held today, the Conservatives would likely win a majority government.

When Singh accused Poilievre of repeatedly voting against pharmacare and health care and questioned whether a Conservative government would make cuts to those programs, the Tory leader said he had always voted to increase health care transfers to the provinces. He said the pharmacare plan would bring about a single-payer system by banning union workers from keeping their private plans.

Should the non-confidence motion fail, Conservatives would be able to introduce another on Sept. 26 during a second Opposition day in Parliament, which is a day where Opposition parties can bring forward a motion of their choosing for debate. There will be seven opposition days required this fall, five of which go to the Conservatives.