(Ottawa) Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre may table a motion of censure against the Trudeau government as early as next Tuesday in an attempt to trigger a federal election this fall.
The Trudeau government intends to grant the Conservative Party an opposition day starting next Tuesday, allowing it to table a motion of its choice, Liberal and Conservative sources confirmed to The Press.
This information comes the day after the by-elections in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, a Liberal stronghold that fell into the hands of the Bloc Québécois after a close fight.
The Trudeau government’s decision to grant the Conservatives an opposition day sets the stage for the first test of the Liberal minority government’s political survival since the New Democratic Party (NDP) decided to tear up the support agreement it had reached with the prime minister in March 2022.
The vote on the Conservative Party’s motion could take place the following day, Wednesday, September 25.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, has suggested in recent days that he intends to use the new balance of power that his party has had in Ottawa since the divorce between the Trudeau government and Jagmeet Singh’s NDP.
PHOTO BLAIR GABLE, REUTERS
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet
The probability that an election will be called as early as next week is, however, “very low,” the Bloc leader told Radio-Canada on Tuesday.
His party’s victory in LaSalle–Émard–Verdun changes nothing, he warned earlier in the day, even if this victory in western Montreal suggests others in Rosemont, Hochelaga, “perhaps in Laval”, in Outaouais and elsewhere in Quebec.
“I will be pressed when I feel that the Liberals are not willing to grant me what is being asked,” he said at a press briefing.
The tone was quite different in the NDP camp on Tuesday, even if its opponents believe that the left-wing party has no interest in jumping quickly into an election campaign.
“People are fed up with the Liberals. They are finished,” Jagmeet Singh proclaimed at a press briefing in Ottawa.
According to him, the NDP is “the only federal party to have been competitive in two” by-elections. A gap of 622 votes separated the NDP candidate, Craig Sauvé, from the Bloc winner, Louis-Philippe Sauvé, in LaSalle–Émard–Verdun.
The NDP also managed to hold on to the Manitoba riding of Elmwood-Transcona, despite a tough fight from the Conservatives. Singh sees this as proof that “New Democrats can together stop Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative cuts.”
In recent weeks, the Conservative leader has promised to table a motion of censure at the first opportunity to trigger a federal election, which he says would take on the appearance of a referendum on the carbon tax.
A “heartbreaking” defeat
Liberal ministers struggled to explain their defeat in LaSalle–Émard–Verdun on Tuesday as they arrived at the cabinet meeting. It was the second party stronghold to collapse after Toronto–St. Paul’s, just under three months ago.
“It’s heartbreaking when you lose a campaign by 248 votes,” acknowledged Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who co-chaired the Liberal campaign. Especially since the Liberal Party of Canada had 500 volunteers on the ground “who were there for over 35 days.”
“Let’s be clear, this is not the expected result,” noted Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne. “I think that this morning, we need to show humility. It will also require us to redouble our efforts to demonstrate to Quebecers that we are indeed the best team to represent Quebec’s interests in Ottawa.”
The turnout, which was still close to 40%, was not enough, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “We still see some engagement, but there are a lot of people who stayed home,” the Prime Minister said. “So we are thinking about how we can get people more involved to understand how important and fundamental a choice there is to make in the next election.”
Justin Trudeau has indicated that he intends to stay in office and roll up his sleeves in preparation for the next general election.
The Conservative Party has held a lead of between 15 and 20 points in the polls for more than a year. A federal election must be held no later than October 2025.
With Louise Leduc, The Press