Carney survives two confidence votes on budget, quashing fears of winter election | Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority government has survived two confidence votes on its budget, ending fears of a winter federal election for now.
The Liberals won the second of three votes on the plan on Friday, clearing the way for tens of billions of dollars in new spending.
Needing the support of opposition MPs, the party took advantage of the Conservatives voting with the Liberals to put the budget on track for the final and consequential vote in mid-November. But the results are also a reminder of the unpredictable and contingent realities of politics for Carney, the bumbling economist.
Finance minister François-Philippe Champagne unveiled the Liberal government’s sprawling federal budget on Tuesday, publicly acknowledging that a protracted trade war with the United States and a weakening domestic economy had forced the government to run a deficit tens of billions more than initially anticipated.
“The level of uncertainty is higher than we have seen and felt in generations,” he told MPs during his budget speech. “Bold and rapid action is needed”
This action takes the form of multibillion-dollar “generational investment” that will fundamentally reshape the nature of the country’s economy.
In last December’s fiscal update, the federal deficit was projected to be C$42.2 billion in 2025-26. But the Liberal plan would run a deficit of C$78.3 billion in 2025-26. The government says it will aim to reduce the federal deficit to C$56.6 billion by 2029-30.
When it came to the budget issue, Carney appeared unconcerned about having his budget doled out to opposition parties, arguing that he spent both too much and too little.
He cultivated the image of a no-nonsense technocrat, willing to focus on the economy without the distraction of politics.
After Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre lost his seat in the federal election, Carney opted to quickly call a by-election rather than force the top Conservative Party to suffer in the political wilderness.
“There is no game,” he said.
But earlier this week, Carney held only 169 seats; this number was three below the threshold required to pass the budget without the help of opposition parties. Government House leader Steven MacKinnon has warned the Liberals have no vote and the country could face a Christmas election.
But on Tuesday, Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont appeared before the Liberals in response to the budget.
D’Entremont, who represents a riding in Nova Scotia, told reporters that his decision was in part a rejection of Poilievre’s brusque leadership and suggested there were other disgruntled Conservatives.
His departure was a major win for Carney’s Liberals, who govern with a minority in parliament. While D’Entremont now sits with the Liberals, the party needed the support of two MPs from other parties to pass this budget and avoid an election.
Later on Thursday evening, as MPs were voting, long-serving Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux announced his surprise resignation just seven months after being narrowly re-elected to “spend more time with his family.”
He later denied rumors that he had been removed from the Conservative caucus following speculation that he was considering leaving the Conservatives after meeting Carney privately.
“There’s no way this is just a coincidence,” government official Mark Gerretsen told reporters, adding that Poilievre had seen progressive MPs in his ranks “abandon” the party.
Rumors of discontent within the Conservative caucus also persist, along with reports that the Liberals are looking to court disgruntled Tory MPs.
Carney himself appeared more willing to play politics, telling reporters he would “talk to anyone, public or otherwise” who might support his legislative goals.
“Carney is not a lifelong politician, and that was part of his appeal to voters in the spring election. He presents himself as someone above the partisan games that characterize Canadian politics,” said Lori Turnbull, director of Dalhousie University’s school of public administration. But his decision to focus the Liberal party on the economy and fiscal responsibility helped him attract moderate conservatives.
“He and Carney have a lot in common.”
