Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leader Pierre Poilievre will soon have his first opportunity to try to bring down Justin Trudeau’s minority government.
The first official opposition day, the day the Conservatives can present a motion of censure in Parliament, is scheduled for next Tuesday, September 24. A vote is expected to take place the following day.
The information, first reported by the Toronto Starwas confirmed by The Duty.
For weeks, the Conservative leader has been promising to trigger “a carbon tax election” as soon as possible. However, his motion will need to be supported by the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party (NDP) to bring down the government.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh continues to cast doubt on his support for the Conservatives. “We will look at every motion that comes before us and make a decision based on what is in the best interest of Canadians,” he reiterated Tuesday.
At his party’s caucus retreat last week, Singh would not say whether he would maintain carbon pricing if his party formed government, which many interpreted as an about-face on the federal tax.
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet is open to supporting the government in exchange for “gains for Quebec.”
These gains will have to be concrete and quick, however, warned Mr. Blanchet. “I invite the government not to limit itself to inviting us for coffee next week to chat about the temperature. I want something concrete, tangible and quick,” he said on the first day of the resumption of parliamentary work, Monday.
The Bloc leader is calling in particular for the Old Age Security pension for seniors aged 65 to 74 to be increased to the level of that of people aged 75 and over.
The next federal election is scheduled for October 2025 at the latest, but the scenario of an early election has become more likely since the end of the support agreement between the Liberals and the NDP. The agreement allowed the Liberals to remain in power until 2025.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership was shaken again after he lost the Montreal riding of Lasalle-Émard-Verdun on Monday night — his second defeat in a Liberal stronghold in three months. In the wake of the defeat, Liberal cabinet ministers continued to support the prime minister.