Latest news with #AndrewScheer
National Post
14 hours ago
- Politics
- National Post
How a little-known procedure helped the Liberals dodge their first confidence vote
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government used an obscure parliamentary maneuver to sidestep its first major test of confidence on Wednesday, adopting its reply to the throne speech by division. Article content The measure sailed through the House of Commons without a vote after Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux, the parliamentary secretary to government House leader Steven MacKinnon, moved without objection for the government reply to be sent to the King via Governor General Mary Simon. Article content Conservative Leader in the House of Commons Andrew Scheer was one of the MPs on hand to watch the motion carry. Article content Ian Brodie, a political scientist and former chief of staff to ex-prime minister Stephen Harper, said that the procedural set piece likely reflected a tacit agreement between the new government and opposition parties. Article content 'I'm sure the opposition parties thought this through and have consented to let the Carney government continue on,' said Brodie. Article content According to the House rules of procedure, motions like the throne speech reply may be adopted without a vote under two circumstances: by unanimous consent and 'on division.' Article content The latter happens when support for the motion isn't unanimous but no member of a recognized party moves for a recorded vote on its passage to be taken. Article content Interim NDP leader Don Davies said in the preceding hours that he'd instruct his seven-member caucus to vote against the motion but wasn't in a position to make good on the threat, with the NDP not having enough seats to count as a 'recognized party' for the the purposes of parliamentary proceedings. Article content The minority Liberal government suffered a minor scare on Monday evening when it didn't have the votes blocking a hostile amendment to the throne speech reply calling on it to present an economic update before Parliament breaks for the summer. The procedural vote was not a matter of confidence and the government has said it doesn't consider it binding. Article content Liberal MPs downplayed the narrowly lost vote, saying that they weren't surprised by the result. Article content Brodie says that a new election would not necessarily have been triggered if the Liberal throne speech reply was voted down. Article content 'The Governor General could reasonably ask (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre to form a government. It's possible he could command the confidence of the House,' said Brodie.
National Post
18 hours ago
- Politics
- National Post
Michael Taube: Early signs Liberal government may be short-lived
The 45th Canadian Parliament officially began on May 26. There are already some early signs that it may not last very long. Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals suffered an embarrassing defeat in a June 2 vote in the House of Commons. Conservative interim leader Andrew Scheer's sub-amendment to the throne speech, which called for a 'firm commitment' to present a spring economic statement or budget 'that incorporates measures aimed at unleashing Canada's economic potential,' passed by a vote of 166-164. Article content This surprising result was aided by the fact that four Liberal MPs didn't vote due to the long-standing procedural measure of paired abstentions. This is when the parties represented in the House agree to have an MP sit out a vote and be paired with an MP of a different party who can't attend for a particular reason. Article content Article content In fairness, this was a non-binding vote. Confidence in the Liberal government wasn't being put to the test that day. At the same time, in spite of chief government whip Mark Gerretsen suggesting 'we knew the outcome of what that vote was going to be,' it's still a humiliating moment. While there have been a tiny number of instances of a federal government losing a non-binding vote, resolution or motion, it's highly unusual to have it happen this early in a parliament's life — and to have it linked to the Throne Speech. Article content As it happens, Carney and the Liberals survived a second crisis with the Throne Speech the following day when it was adopted by the House of Commons in a peculiar fashion. Article content Article content Political commentators and columnists were briefly caught off-guard on June 4 when the NDP announced they would vote against the Throne Speech. The Conservatives seemed like a good bet to join them. Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet even told the media that 'we have no news about how the caucus is going to vote.' Article content Article content This had suddenly become an interesting situation. The minority Liberal government has 169 MPs. One of them, Francis Scarpaleggia, is the Speaker of the House. Only Green Party leader Elizabeth May appeared to be onside with the Liberals. If the Conservatives, NDP and BQ all voted against the Throne Speech, this would have been regarded as a vote of no confidence in Carney's Liberal government. This would have likely led to the dissolution of Parliament and a new federal election. Article content The whole scenario seemed rather far-fetched. Going back to the polls so early wouldn't be desirable for most Canadians. The voters would blame one or more of the parties for causing this situation. Meanwhile, Elections Canada revealed that the estimated cost for running this year's federal election was $570 million. It would be difficult to convince the Canadian taxpayers, who foot this lofty bill, that they would need to spend this amount (or more) once again in 2025 — with no guarantee that it would lead to a different result.
CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
Tory interim leader calls Eby a 'radical' for not supporting another B.C. pipeline
Interim Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer called B.C.'s premier a "radical" for not throwing his support behind a new oil pipeline through the province. Scheer was sparring with Prime Minister Mark Carney in the House of Commons Wednesday over Canada's response to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest move to hike tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25 to 50 per cent. "One way to deal with the Americans is from a position of strength, but now the prime minister is saying that he will not even approve a new pipeline unless there is consensus," Scheer said. "This is already unravelling. The radical B.C. premier is saying no pipeline through his province." Deputy Premier Niki Sharma, standing in for Eby while he is in Asia on a 10-day trade mission, said Scheer's comment isn't constructive at a time when Canada needs to stick together to fight Trump's tariffs. "This kind of divisive language — that's really not true — is not helpful, I think, to the national dialogue," Sharma said. Eby doubled down on his position this week that Canada's ticket to becoming an energy superpower is through clean energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG), not another pipeline, which Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is pushing for. WATCH | Smith pushes for new pipeline: Hearing PM talk about northwestern pipeline 'very encouraging': Alberta premier | Power & Politics 2 days ago Duration 8:37 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith tells Power & Politics she found Prime Minister Mark Carney's comments on a possible northwestern pipeline 'very encouraging' and a 'sea change' from where first ministers' discussions on energy projects were six months ago. "It's not my job to come in and tell Premier Smith that her vision for a North Coast pipeline is many years off and there's no proponent at this point," Eby told reporters from Osaka, Japan. Eby pointed out the publicly-owned Trans Mountain pipeline is currently not operating at full capacity. "That would be a good place to start," he said. Eby said that in speaking with Japanese companies and potential investors, it's clear that Japan is moving away from fossil fuels like Alberta crude oil. During a meeting in Saskatoon this week with Canada's premiers, Carney said there's "real potential" for a decarbonized pipeline to get Alberta bitumen to B.C.'s North Coast. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said during the first ministers' meeting he was confident Eby and Carney would "work things out" regarding a second pipeline. B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix said the pipeline debate is about politics, not economics. Dix made the comments during a Wednesday press conference about B.C. Hydro's work to boost the province's baseload electricity generation capacity in a bid to meet the province's growing demand from residents and industries. Baseload capacity refers to constant and stable power sources. Dix said B.C. Hydro is requesting expressions of interest from companies to provide geothermal or hydroelectric projects to expand long-term power capacity and meet peak demand. Dix said the call for power is key to building the province's capacity for critical mineral mines and clean energy projects.
Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
'WHERE'S THE DEAL:' Tories demand answers from Carney about tariffs
As Min. Leblanc met with U.S. officials over trade, the Trump White House increased steel and aluminum tariffs from 25% to 50% Tuesday Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer speaks during Question Period on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 Photo by Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Why is Canada's being left behind? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account That was the Conservatives' question for Prime Minister Mark Carney, as U.S. President Donald Trump's latest hike to steel and aluminum imports fuelled question period on Wednesday. 'Let's be clear, Trump's tariffs on Canada are wrong, unjustified and an attack on our workers and economy,' Opposition leader Andrew Scheer said in the House of Commons. 'While other countries have got deals to lower their tariffs, not only has the PM failed to do that, but he got Canada's tariffs doubled on steel and aluminum. He promised he was the man with the plan, but he can't even get a deal.' Trump hiked tariffs in incoming steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% on Tuesday, a decision made while Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc was trying to hammer out a deal with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. '(Carney) promised that he'd collect $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs, but then secretly dropped those tariffs to zero during the campaign,' Scheer continued. Recommended video 'If he's so sure that he's going to collect $20 billion, why not table a budget and prove it to Canadians?' In response, Carney repeated comments he made to reporters before attending Wednesday morning's caucus meeting — agreeing with Scheer that that Trump's new tariffs were neither legal nor fair. 'That is why we have retaliatory tariffs on over $90 billion worth of U.S. goods,' Carney said, to shouts of 'prove it' from across the aisle. 'We are in intensive negotiations with the Americans and in parallel preparing reprisals if those negotiations do not succeed.' bpassifiume@ X: @bryanpassifiume Read More Toronto & GTA Celebrity Canada Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Liberals downplay narrowly lost vote demanding spring budget
OTTAWA — The Liberals downplayed a vote on the throne speech they narrowly lost Monday evening to all the opposition parties which urges the government to present an economic update or a budget before the House of Commons rises for the summer on June 20. Article content Article content The sub-amendment, brought forward by Conservative interim leader Andrew Scheer, called for a 'firm commitment' to present a fiscal overview of the country's finances this spring 'that incorporates measures aimed at unleashing Canada's economic potential.' Article content Article content It was adopted Monday by 166 votes — comprised of the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and Green Party's Elizabeth May — against 164 Liberal votes. Article content Article content It is, however, a non-binding vote, meaning that the government is under no obligation to present a spring economic update or a budget. But the vote in this new minority Parliament showed how opposition parties can aspire to go up against the government and its razor-thin margin in the House. Article content Mark Gerretsen, the chief government whip who is responsible for ensuring that Liberal MPs attend and vote in the way the party desires, insisted nothing went wrong. Article content 'We knew the outcome of what that vote was going to be,' he told reporters on Tuesday. Article content Gerretsen said Liberals have 169 MPs, one of whom is the House Speaker, and four MPs did not vote because of 'paired abstentions.' Those happen when parties agree to have a member sit out a vote because someone from another party is not able to attend. Article content Article content 'Every single person that was supposed to vote yesterday voted,' he said. Article content Justice Minister Sean Fraser admitted the government is in 'new territory' with its minority mandate and parties can sway things on any given vote with very thin margins. Article content 'I try not to bake feelings into these things. They're math challenges, not problems with feelings. But we have to make sure that we do the work necessary to try to collaborate with parties across the aisle in order to implement the mandate that Canadians have given us.' Article content Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said last month there would be no federal budget in the spring, but a fall economic statement. Shortly after, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government would present a budget during the fall session instead. Article content 'We will have a much more comprehensive, effective, ambitious, prudent budget in the fall,' he said during a media availability in Rome, where he was to commemorate Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass. 'You do these things right and that's what we're going to do.'
