Another Canadian federal election has come and gone, with Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau re-elected as Prime Minister in a minority government. This was a very interesting election-for one, I got to vote for the first time! But for many, it was also seen as one of the most contested and divisive Canadian federal elections in a long time.
It’s been a while since some of us have taken a civics course though. To many, the words “minority government” are confusing or may not mean a lot. However, a minority government is a very significant change in Canada’s political environment. It’s important to understand what this means for the next few years in Canada.
In technical terms, a minority government means that a party has less than the 170 seats needed for a majority government in the House of Commons. In this election, the Liberal party won 157 seats, losing 27 seats from the 2015 federal election. However, the meaning of a minority government goes way beyond the number of seats.
Because the Liberal party does not make up more than half of the House of Commons, they are at a disadvantage when it comes to voting procedures. If all the other parties so choose to vote against the Liberals, they would not be able to pass a bill. With this kind of environment, it can be very difficult to get things done, especially with the partisan nature of politics. In order to get more bills passed, it would be a good idea for a party with a minority government to form a coalition with another party. This is basically a partnership between two or more parties. There can be a formal or informal agreement between the parties to support what the party in power brings to the table.
In the case of this government, it would make sense for them to form a coalition with the New Democratic Party (NDP). Compared to the Conservative Party, Liberals and New Democrats share more similar views on certain issues. With a coalition government, the party in power doesn’t have to worry so much about getting enough votes for a bill to pass-they have that guaranteed support. As of recently, the Trudeau administration has not formed any coalition with other parties. However, this recent event does not mean there won’t be some kind of power-sharing. Trudeau could work with parties like the NDP on certain issues, but not everything.
Usually, a minority government only lasts two years. This is because of what is called a confidence vote. Members of Parliament in the House of Commons participate in a confidence vote for a bill if a majority of the members agree to vote against the Prime Minister or for very important bills and budgets. If a Prime Minister and their party lose a confidence vote, an election is forced upon Canada. This happened most recently in 2011 with Stephen Harper. For some politicians in the past, a confidence vote can be used as a strategy. Some governments don’t form a coalition with another party or parties, letting their government fail so that they can blame other parties for bringing Canadians into an election. It’s difficult to say whether this works or not.
In the end, a minority government situation may not be the most ideal-it doesn’t allow a lot of time for governments to get things done, and politicians place more importance on partisan support than helping in the long-term. At the same time, I look at this as a good opportunity for the Liberals to work with other parties and address what Canadians want. Once again, it is difficult to say what will happen next. But this election showed a division in political support across Canada, so it will be very interesting to see what another election may mean for the present and future of Canada.
Sources:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-liberal-minority-government-results-2019-1.5329744
https://globalnews.ca/news/6061385/federal-election-2019-result/
https://globalnews.ca/news/3568037/vote-of-no-confidence-canada/