Canadian government toppled by non-confidence vote

[DeeBye]

link

MPs topple Liberal government, trigger election

The opposition parties banded together Monday to defeat the Liberal minority government and set the stage for an election that is expected to culminate in a mid-January vote.

In a 171 to 133 vote, the House passed a historic no-confidence motion exactly one year and five months after Canadian voters elected the Liberals.

Prime Minister Paul Martin will now have to go see Governor General Michaëlle Jean Tuesday morning and ask her to dissolve Parliament.

As the vote was conducted, parliamentarians stood up to applaud MPs who will not be running in the next election.

After the vote result was announced, cheering MPs tossed sheets of paper into the air. They then crossed the aisle to shake hands with their political opponents as they prepared for the long campaign.

The Liberal defeat marks the first time a government has fallen on a straight motion of no-confidence in Parliament.

Other minority governments have been forced into elections after losing budget votes or censure motions interpreted as loss of confidence.

Shortly after the collapse of his government, Martin lashed out at the opposition as he launched his party's election campaign, taking particular aim at Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

"Stephen Harper sees no positive role for government, not in improving the lives of Canadians, not even in standing up for Canada," he said to his cheering caucus.

Harper promised to mount a campaign focusing on the future of Canada, saying it's not enough to just complain about the Liberals.

He referred to the no-confidence vote as an historic night for Canada.

"This is not just the end of a tired, directionless scandal-plagued government, it's the start of a bright new future for this great country," Harper said.

Last week, Harper officially tabled the motion of no-confidence which read: "That this House has lost confidence in the government."

The Liberals have 133 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 98, the Bloc Québécois with 53 and the NDP with 18. There are four seats held by Independents and two are vacant.

According to a poll conducted by Environics Research for the CBC, 35 per cent of decided voters said they would vote Liberal. The Conservatives came in at 30 per cent and the NDP was picked by 20 per cent.

With a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20, the poll puts the Liberals and Conservatives at a virtual dead heat.

Federal elections have to be held on a Monday and the campaigns have to be at least 36 days long. Martin is expected to call for a slightly longer campaign, setting the vote for mid-January, either the 16th or the 23rd, with an agreement among the parties to take a holiday break and stop campaigning between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.

An eight-week campaign would be the longest the country has seen in two decades.

The last time a government fell at the hands of the opposition was Joe Clark's Conservative government in 1979.

NDP Leader Jack Layton criticized the Liberals for refusing to compromise and agree to their proposal to hold a February election, avoiding a Christmas campaign.

"As a result of the stubbornness of the Liberals and the inflexibility that we've seen, we will be starting an election (campaign) tomorrow," Layton said.

Martin had promised to call an election within 30 days after the final sponsorship report is delivered on Feb. 1.

Monday's vote means a number of bills will die on the order paper, among them an act to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and an animal cruelty bill.

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I know that Canadian politics is boring to the rest of the world, but this is fairly big news in Canada. It's roughly the equivalent of the impeachment of an American president.

[Ashock]

link

MPs topple Liberal government, trigger election

The opposition parties banded together Monday to defeat the Liberal minority government and set the stage for an election that is expected to culminate in a mid-January vote.

In a 171 to 133 vote, the House passed a historic no-confidence motion exactly one year and five months after Canadian voters elected the Liberals.

Prime Minister Paul Martin will now have to go see Governor General Michaëlle Jean Tuesday morning and ask her to dissolve Parliament.

As the vote was conducted, parliamentarians stood up to applaud MPs who will not be running in the next election.

After the vote result was announced, cheering MPs tossed sheets of paper into the air. They then crossed the aisle to shake hands with their political opponents as they prepared for the long campaign.

The Liberal defeat marks the first time a government has fallen on a straight motion of no-confidence in Parliament.

Other minority governments have been forced into elections after losing budget votes or censure motions interpreted as loss of confidence.

Shortly after the collapse of his government, Martin lashed out at the opposition as he launched his party's election campaign, taking particular aim at Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

"Stephen Harper sees no positive role for government, not in improving the lives of Canadians, not even in standing up for Canada," he said to his cheering caucus.

Harper promised to mount a campaign focusing on the future of Canada, saying it's not enough to just complain about the Liberals.

He referred to the no-confidence vote as an historic night for Canada.

"This is not just the end of a tired, directionless scandal-plagued government, it's the start of a bright new future for this great country," Harper said.

Last week, Harper officially tabled the motion of no-confidence which read: "That this House has lost confidence in the government."

The Liberals have 133 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 98, the Bloc Québécois with 53 and the NDP with 18. There are four seats held by Independents and two are vacant.

According to a poll conducted by Environics Research for the CBC, 35 per cent of decided voters said they would vote Liberal. The Conservatives came in at 30 per cent and the NDP was picked by 20 per cent.

With a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20, the poll puts the Liberals and Conservatives at a virtual dead heat.

Federal elections have to be held on a Monday and the campaigns have to be at least 36 days long. Martin is expected to call for a slightly longer campaign, setting the vote for mid-January, either the 16th or the 23rd, with an agreement among the parties to take a holiday break and stop campaigning between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.

An eight-week campaign would be the longest the country has seen in two decades.

The last time a government fell at the hands of the opposition was Joe Clark's Conservative government in 1979.

NDP Leader Jack Layton criticized the Liberals for refusing to compromise and agree to their proposal to hold a February election, avoiding a Christmas campaign.

"As a result of the stubbornness of the Liberals and the inflexibility that we've seen, we will be starting an election (campaign) tomorrow," Layton said.

Martin had promised to call an election within 30 days after the final sponsorship report is delivered on Feb. 1.

Monday's vote means a number of bills will die on the order paper, among them an act to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and an animal cruelty bill.

-----------------------------------------

I know that Canadian politics is boring to the rest of the world, but this is fairly big news in Canada.  It's roughly the equivalent of the impeachment of an American president.
[right][snapback]95917[/snapback][/right]

It's about effing time. It would be nice to have the pendulum swing more towards the middle.


-A

[DeeBye]

It's about effing time. It would be nice to have the pendulum swing more towards the middle.
-A
[right][snapback]95920[/snapback][/right]

The best government is one that I never hear about in the news.

[gekko]

I still can't figure out why the Conservatives and NDP were so keen on toppling the government now. Polls are showing that we'll almost certainly get the same result (Libearl minority government) and I can't see the NDP having more power than they just gave up (barganing power, given the Liberals' need of NDP votes to stay in power). I suspect that only the Party Quebecois will really gain any momentum here. Was it so hard for the Conservatives to accept the Liberals calling the election on their own?

gekko

[Doc]

Look out! The Sith are loose in Canada! Don't you see this is what happened in Star Wars.

You are all doomed.

[ShadowHM]

I am puzzled by the timing on this too.

We were guaranteed a spring election regardless, since a committment was made to calling an election within a month of the release of the second phase of the Gomery Inquiry report.

Frankly, since the issues to be addressed by that report will affect all the parties, I would have liked to be able to have their responses in hand to evaluate before I cast my vote.

Not to mention the fact that I don't want to spoil my family time during the upcoming holidays with the inevitable negative campaigning we are about to see. <_<

[Guest]

So is your Govt as crooked as it appears or is it just politcal spin?

[Jester]

It's about effing time. It would be nice to have the pendulum swing more towards the middle.
-A
[right][snapback]95920[/snapback][/right]

This is Canada. The Liberals *are* the middle.

-Jester

[Skandranon]

I still can't figure out why the Conservatives and NDP were so keen on toppling the government now.&nbsp; Polls are showing that we'll almost certainly get the same result (Libearl minority government) and I can't see the NDP having more power than they just gave up (barganing power, given the Liberals' need of NDP votes to stay in power).&nbsp; I suspect that only the Party Quebecois will really gain any momentum here.&nbsp; Was it so hard for the Conservatives to accept the Liberals calling the election on their own?

gekko
[right][snapback]95926[/snapback][/right]

The way it looks to me, this non-confidence motion is just more of the same political gamesmanship the Conservatives and NDP have been engaging in from the moment the government was elected. They aren't able to see national interest, only their own narrow goals. They wanted to show they could push around the government whenever they wanted, and they chose to do it now.

Last election, I was a reluctant Liberal voter, mourning the demise of my PCs. The antics of the Opposition since then have turned me into a die-hard Liberal partisan, and I never, ever thought I'd be saying those words.

[Jester]

So is your Govt as crooked as it appears or is it just politcal spin?
[right][snapback]95945[/snapback][/right]

Well, it's important to keep in mind the context. Money doesn't often disappear from the Canadian coffers. We are, generally speaking, one of the least corrupt nations in the world.

Any money that might have gone to the liberal party coffers directly has been paid back.

So, while this is a clear example of government waste and cronyism, it doesn't seem to be either that major or that widespread. I hate to use the "few bad apples" defense, but it does seem that there was just a small group of Liberal toadies from Quebec that did the damage, and not the Liberal party generally.

Hm... maybe I should check if the Gomery report is available online. That would have the specifics.

-Jester

[ShadowHM]

Hm... maybe I should check if the Gomery report is available online. That would have the specifics.

-Jester
[right][snapback]95954[/snapback][/right]

The Gomery Report.

Required reading before any further questions ;)

[Guest]

Umm no. I have no desire to read hundreds of pages of report that has little if any bearing on me.

I ask a rather basic and generalized question, figuring some of you Canucks might give me a little perspective.

[Ashock]

This is Canada. The Liberals *are* the middle.

-Jester
[right][snapback]95951[/snapback][/right]

That's a good point. I remember reading a while back that Leonid Brezhnev's (for the teens here, he was USSR's leader in the '70's) son had a villa in Canada years back. He is not the current leader of the Ultra-Liberal Party is he?


-A

[Quark]

Umm no. I have no desire to read hundreds of pages of report that has little if any bearing on me.
[right][snapback]95957[/snapback][/right]

I'm sure, in that case, they have no desire to answer you.

Quid pro quo.

[Guest]

Actually in that case it shouldnt be here on an international forum.

We normally talk about US politics and when Euros and Canadians ask question most people are happy to give at least a brief answer.
Now I am in no way ripping all Canadians - really its just 1(who has some dominance issues.)

[ShadowHM]

Umm no. I have no desire to read hundreds of pages of report that has little if any bearing on me.

[right][snapback]95957[/snapback][/right]

I linked you to a summary. The section called 'Major Findings' has all of four pages. I am sorry if that was too much to tackle.

[Griselda]

Actually in that case it shouldnt be here on an international forum.

We normally talk about US politics and when Euros and Canadians ask question most people are happy to give at least a brief answer.
Now I am in no way ripping all Canadians - really its just 1(who has some dominance issues.)
[right][snapback]95973[/snapback][/right]

Well you shouldn't be "ripping" on any members of this forum, regardless of your personal opinion of them.

[Rhydderch Hael]

I say we Americans march in and finish off what we set out to do in 1812!

You'll like becoming Americans. Plenty of insane firepower, the best pizzas in the hemisphere, and a good 90% of all your celebrities will return to the fold.

[Guest]

Well if we want to get technical no one(except you mods) should be giving commands.
Semantics aside. I dont think either of us broke any rules with what we actually said.

However I dont like attitudes(which I have seen before on Canada subjects) that the topic is essentially for 1 nationality only and other people shouldnt even ask about it.

[Doc]

Well if we want to get technical no one(except you mods) should be giving commands.
Semantics aside. I dont think either of us broke any rules with what we actually said.

However I dont like attitudes(which I have seen before on Canada subjects) that the topic is essentially for 1 nationality only and other people shouldnt even ask about it.
[right][snapback]95990[/snapback][/right]

Ghost, when it comes right down to it, when it's you being hammered on, you are the first to bring up those commands that you say no one should be giving.

:P