Ottawa (AFP) – Canada’s government survived a confidence vote on Monday as parliament narrowly passed a budget Prime Minister Mark Carney said will strengthen an economy threatened by US tariffs. The minority Liberal government faced collapse over the cliffhanger budget vote, but a small group of opposition lawmakers — weary of triggering an election — allowed the fiscal plan to pass.
“It’s time to work together to deliver on this plan — to protect our communities, empower Canadians with new opportunities, and build Canada strong,” Carney said on X after parliament approved his budget with 170 votes for and 168 against. Carney has described the budget as a “generational” opportunity to invest in Canada’s economic future, bolstering self-reliance and reducing dependence on trade with US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Carney was elected to a full term in April to stare down Trump’s protectionist tariffs, but his Liberal Party fell just short of a majority. To pass the budget, the Liberals required support from two opposition lawmakers — or get abstentions. One opposition member, the lone Green Party lawmaker Elizabeth May, voted with the government. May said she was brought on board after Carney pledged in parliament earlier Monday that Canada would meet its commitments under the Paris Climate Accords. “Greens will hold the government to every word of that statement,” May said, referring to Carney’s promise.
– ‘Country first’ –
Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre had panned Carney’s deficit-expanding proposals, insisting that his entire Conservative caucus opposed what he called a “credit card budget.” But two Conservative lawmakers abstained in Monday’s vote, in a major boost for Carney. The left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) was also critical of the spending plan, saying it failed to address unemployment, housing shortages, and the rising costs pinching Canadian families. But the party performed dismally in April’s election, has no permanent leader, and is in financial debt — factors that left members uneasy about forcing Canadians back to the polls.
In a statement issued after the vote, the NDP interim leader Don Davies explained why two of the party’s members abstained, pushing the budget toward passage. It was “clear that Canadians do not want an election right now,” Davies said. “The consequence of defeating this budget would not be to improve it or to help Canadians. It would be to plunge the country into an election only months after the last one, and while we still face an existential threat from the Trump administration,” Davies said, explaining the party decided to “put the interests of our country first.”
Polls conducted ahead of Monday’s vote showed a majority of Canadians did not want new elections so soon after the last round. A November survey from the Leger firm said only one in five Canadians wanted an election now or “as soon as possible.” Half of Canadians surveyed by Leger also said they were satisfied with Carney’s leadership.
– Deficit spending –
The budget includes a near doubling of the deficit from last year, reaching Can$78.3 billion (US$55.5 billion). Carney has maintained that aggressive deficit spending is necessary to offset the damage caused by the Trump administration’s trade policies. The vast majority of bilateral trade remains tariff-free — under the terms of the existing North American trade pact — but Trump’s levies targeting key sectors like autos, aluminum, and steel have hit Canada hard. Carney said estimates indicated that “US tariffs and the associated uncertainty will cost Canadians around 1.8 percent of our GDP.” The prime minister, a former central banker, has said investments in Canada’s military and infrastructure will help improve economic sovereignty, repeatedly warning that relations with the United States are not going to return to a pre-Trump normal.
© 2024 AFP
