Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has withstood its second non-confidence vote in as many weeks, staving off the prospect of an immediate federal election once again.
This afternoon, Members of Parliament voted on a Conservative motion aimed at declaring the government’s loss of confidence in Trudeau’s nine-year tenure. As with a similar motion last week, the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Québécois voted against it, securing the government’s survival.
The NDP had recently ended a supply-and-confidence agreement that had helped stabilize the minority government for over two years, making the Liberals more vulnerable to such challenges.
Earlier today, the Bloc Québécois initiated a debate in the House of Commons, focusing on the issue of increasing old age security payments for all seniors. Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has made it clear that the government has until October 29 to approve the pension bill, which is expected to cost around $16 billion over five years, in order to retain the Bloc’s support.