Justin Trudeau’s minority government survived a confidence vote on Wednesday that would have otherwise plunged Canada into a federal election.
The vote was on a motion brought by Erin O’Toole’s opposition Conservative Party to investigate the Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) and its dealings with the disgraced WE Charity organization.
The Conservative motion called for the appointment of a special “Anti-Corruption Committee” — a title which itself drew controversy and an amendment on the motion to drop the “anti-corruption” label.
In days leading up to the decisive vote, the Liberals declared that the motion represented a matter of confidence, meaning that if they lost they would approach the Governor General to call an election.
With the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois saying that they would support the motion regardless, the fate of the government rested in the hands of Jagmeet Singh’s New Democrats.
The NDP leader teased out his intentions in statements ahead of Wednesday’s vote, saying that Trudeau needed to “explain himself” to Canadians and ask for an election if he wanted one.
“Let me be very clear: the only way there is an election right now is because the Prime Minister chooses to have one,” Singh said on Tuesday.
“If he wants to, then he should just come out and say, ‘I want an election’ and explain why.”
All three members of the Green Party also voted against the Conservative motion.
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, recently elected Green leader Annamie Paul said members of the House of Commons needed to “dial down the rhetoric” and get back to bipartisan cooperation.
Paul does not currently sit in the house of commons and is seeking a byelection win in the riding of Toronto Centre.
“We are in a second wave of #COVID19, and many people are still struggling,” Paul wrote on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.
“We need to maintain strong collaboration between parties if we are going to deliver necessary support to the people of Canada. There is no room for the brinkmanship witnessed over the past days.”
The final vote tally was 146 in favour, 180 against.
