Federal budget narrowly passes confidence vote in House of Commons, avoiding election
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority government survived a key vote Monday night, with the House of Commons voting 170-168 in favour of a motion approving the budgetary policy of the federal government, avoiding sending Canadians back to the polls for another election.
The opposition Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois voted against the budget, but Green Party leader Elizabeth May announced earlier in the day she would vote in favour, bolstering the Liberal government’s chances of winning the vote.
While most NDP MPs voted against the budget, two of them abstained from voting, as did two Conservative MPs, including Matt Jeneroux, who has announced he is resigning from the House of Commons. The abstentions lowered the threshold of votes needed for the Liberal minority government to win the confidence of the House and stay in power.