Mark Carney’s government survived a vote of confidence on Monday, November 17 with the narrow adoption by Parliament of the budget proposed by the Prime Minister to revive the Canadian economy, which was threatened by American tariffs. Overall, 170 MPs supported and 168 opposed. Just before the vote, the government secured the support of the only elected member of the Green Party, Elizabeth May.
If the majority of Canadians do not want new elections according to polls and 52% of them approve of Mark Carney’s actions, then it is the support of opposition MPs who want to avoid early elections and the abstention of four other MPs that allows the budget to be implemented and Mark Carney to remain in power.
The leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, criticized the government’s proposals, opposing what he described as a budget “credit card budget”. The Bloc Québécois, an independence party (22 seats), voted against the text.
The New Democratic Party (left, 7 MPs), which has supported liberal governments in the past, regrets that the budget does not support workers enough. After failing in April’s election, the party does not want to cause the fall of the government, which would lead to a new vote.
Criticize the budget “very disappointing” And “very damaging to the environment”NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice voted against it, but defended his two colleagues’ choice to abstain. “The message from the public is clear: we don’t like this budget, but it would be irresponsible to hold an election”he confirmed.
Fighting crises and import duties
For Mark Carney, this budget, which plans to double the deficit by 2025-26 – estimated at 78.3 billion Canadian dollars (about 48 billion euros) – and focuses on launching major infrastructure projects, is a response to the budget. “brave” economic upheaval and attacks from the United States. He confirmed, weeks earlier, that American import duties and the uncertainty they cause “will cost Canadians about 1.8% of GDP”
“We must now work together to implement this plan, to protect our communities, provide new opportunities for Canadians, and build a strong Canada”stated, in X, the head of government, welcomed the implementation of the budget.
Before the vote, the Prime Minister said on Monday that he had done so “I’m well” before Parliament. “We create jobs and the inflation rate decreases”he assured while consumer prices, published on the same day by Statistics Canada, showed a decline in inflation (2.2% in October).
The Trump administration’s policies, which imposed tariffs and recently halted all bilateral trade negotiations, have had a devastating impact on Canada, increasing unemployment and putting pressure on businesses in critical sectors such as autos, aluminum and steel.
