Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Steven MacKinnon in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa on April 21.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The federal government is proceeding with its plan to increase its influence over House of Commons committees now that it has reached majority status after a series of floor-crossings and three recent by-election wins.
On Tuesday afternoon, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon announced a notice of motion on the issue to be considered by the Commons in coming days.
Under the motion posted by Mr. McKinnon, the number of Conservatives and Bloc Québécois MPs on committees would remain the same, but more Liberals would be added. The result would be an increase in the influence of the governing party.
Because the NDP only has six MPs, well shy of the 12 required for official party status, they do not have any members on Commons committees.
Conservatives concerned about changes to House of Commons committees
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals gained control of the House of Commons last week with their three by-election victories. But the committees remain a point of leverage for opposition parties, who still hold the balance of power on some because the committees’ membership was determined while the Liberals were in minority.
The committees review legislation and scrutinize government spending, and opposition parties have regularly used their combined majority there in recent years to force departments to hand over documents such as government contracts or internal e-mails, which are then used to question cabinet ministers.
“Liberals now comprise a majority of MPs in the House of Commons,” Mr. MacKinnon said in a Tuesday social media post.
“There is an undeniable, long-standing principle in Parliament: a party that has the majority of seats in the House also has a majority in committees.”
Mr. MacKinnon is scheduled to speak to the government proposal in a Parliament Hill news conference on Wednesday morning.
Under the Liberal plan, a handful of committees that are traditionally chaired by an opposition MP, including those dealing with public accounts, access to information, government operations and the status of women, would have 10 members. This would be up from nine because of the addition of a fifth Liberal MP. Four would continue to be from the Conservative party and one from the Bloc Québécois.
Because chairs do not vote, the Liberals would have a majority on those committees.
Mr. Carney said last week that the move to majority government would create a shift in the dynamic in House of Commons committees. He said it should lead to more substantive debates and less “showboating” by opposition MPs.
But the Conservatives have denounced the government’s plans to adjust the composition of committees.
Official Opposition House Leader Andrew Scheer has said that the makeup of committees should be based on the results of the last general election.
In that election in April, 2025, the Liberals elected enough MPs to form a minority government.
Mr. Scheer has said maintaining the status quo of committees is vital to holding the government to account.
The House of Commons rules – officially known as the Standing Orders – empower committees “to send for persons, papers and records,” meaning they can order people to appear before them and compel government departments and agencies to hand over specific documents.
There was no immediate comment from the Conservatives on Tuesday, but a party fundraising appeal issued that evening accused Mr. Carney of using his majority powers to make life easier for the government instead of focusing on affordability for Canadians.
“He’s going to stack the deck on committees to shut down investigations into his scandals, conflicts and waste, because he thinks no one can stop him,” the appeal said.