Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority government narrowly avoided collapse on Monday after surviving a razor-thin budget vote in the House of Commons — a confidence motion that, if defeated, would have immediately triggered a federal election.
MPs voted 170 to 168 in favour of the budget, with four members abstaining. Conservative MPs Shannon Stubbs and Matt Jeneroux, along with NDP MPs Lori Idlout and Gord Johns, chose not to vote — a move that proved decisive in a chamber where every MP counted.
The final boost came from Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who announced just hours before the vote that she would support the budget. May said her decision followed Carney’s assurances that his government remains fully committed to meeting Canada’s Paris Agreement climate targets — a key priority for the Greens.
With the budget now passed, the government must move forward with a budget implementation bill, which will face its own scrutiny and debate in Parliament.
The dramatic vote came shortly before Carney was scheduled to depart for the United Arab Emirates, ahead of traveling to Johannesburg for this week’s G20 summit — adding urgency to an already tense day on Parliament Hill.
For now, Carney’s Liberals live to govern another day, but the close call underscores the fragility of the minority and the political tightrope the prime minister must walk in the months ahead.