In Ottawa this week, the Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney managed to cling to power once again twice, in fact through consecutive confidence votes. But while the mechanics of Parliament rolled on, the political theatre behind these votes tells a deeper, and frankly more troubling, story.
The Bloc Québécois put forward an amendment to the budget, one supported by the NDP’s seven MPs and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. Yet despite that united front from much of the opposition, the amendment was crushed 30 votes for, 307 against thanks to the Liberals and Conservatives joining forces.
This odd moment of alignment between the two largest parties came only a day after the NDP, Bloc, and May had helped the minority Liberals defeat a Conservative sub-amendment. The choreography of alliances shifted so quickly it left many observers feeling less like they were watching democratic process and more like a political circus.
Carney’s office confirmed that both amendments were designated as confidence votes moves that felt, to many, like strategic hardball. When a government labels something a confidence matter, they raise the stakes to the highest possible level: lose the vote, lose your government. It’s a powerful way of pressuring MPs to toe the line, even if they might otherwise be inclined to support an amendment.
But here’s where it gets interesting: the Liberals have been bolstering their numbers through a series of defections. Chris d’Entremont crossed the floor from the Conservatives earlier this week. Then, late Thursday, Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux announced he was leaving Parliament entirely after rumours swirled that he, too, might jump ship to the Liberals.
Carney, speaking to the Canadian Club Toronto, even joked about the situation, encouraging attendees to “call your local MP if they’re not a Liberal.” The line earned laughs, but it also revealed the government’s confidence perhaps overconfidence in its growing leverage.
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer, predictably furious, accused the Liberals of trying to “cobble together a majority through undemocratic means with backroom deals and pressure tactics.” Of course, Scheer himself once benefitted from a floor-crosser, Leona Alleslev in 2018, so the moral high ground is shaky. But his criticism taps into something real: a sense that the Liberals are more interested in survival than transparency or accountability.
This budget process has become less about fiscal policy and more about political maneuvering. Confidence votes, defections, sub-amendments these mechanics matter, but they shouldn’t overshadow the core issue: Canadians deserve a government focused on solving problems, not playing chess with parliamentary rules.
Carney’s Liberals survived the week. But the question lingering in the air is whether they are governing with confidence or merely clinging to it.
