The Liberals and Conservatives spent most of the last few weeks hissing at each other in the House of Commons. Mark Carney’s government accused the Conservatives of obstructing legislation with a block-everything approach. The Tories countered that the Liberals used heavy-handed tactics to dodge accountability.
Then, like a mysterious bump in the night, there was a multi-partisan deal to suddenly rush through a series of votes and end the fall sitting of Parliament. Several stalled bills will advance to the next stage, a major border and immigration bill cleared the Commons, and MPs left a day early for the holidays.
Welcome back to the ways of minority parliaments. They normally chug along with filibusters and phony wars, alongside conflict and brokered compromise. Until they don’t.
But these aren’t normal times.
Mere months ago, the brief spring sitting of Parliament took place amid a sense of crisis, with a fit of bipartisan cooperation as Conservatives helped Liberals pass the One Canadian Economy Act to give the government special powers to fast track major projects. Mr. Carney promised to move at speeds not seen in a generation and the Conservatives usually criticized them for failing to deliver quickly enough.
Liberals, Tories make deal to end impasse on string of bills as Parliament wraps for break
The fall sitting saw that give way to the slower, grinding pace of partisan political tactics. And it closed with the second defection of a Conservative to Liberal benches, with Markham-Unionville MP Michael Ma announcing he was crossing the floor, leaving the Liberals just one seat short of a majority.
That’s a big blow for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Now, the Liberals are threatening to poach a majority from his ranks. And if that doesn’t happen, the increasing conflict in Parliament could slide into a spring election.
So far, the Conservatives under Mr. Poilievre haven’t found a different way to act as an opposition, reverting to blocking tactics and stunts like this week’s motion demanding Liberal MPs “put up or shut up” with unequivocal support for an oil pipeline. When Mr. Ma left for the Liberals, he issued a statement saying he entered politics to “focus on solutions, not division.”
And so far, Mr. Carney’s Liberals haven’t found reliable parliamentary partners among the other parties to move legislation forward at pace.
Politically, Mr. Carney kept on ramping up expectations and making big bets throughout the fall, without signs of damage in opinion polls. His “generational” budget didn’t quite live up to the hype, but Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont crossed the floor on budget day. He responded to pressure to reconcile calls for a new oil pipeline with climate policy by making a deal with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, losing cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault in the process.
But in Parliament, it is getting harder to get things done.
The Conservatives, NDP, and the Greens all contrived to let the Liberal budget pass in a high-profile confidence vote. But the 600-page budget implementation bill to make the measures law hasn’t even been discussed in the Commons finance committee, where the opposition has a majority. Several bills sat in limbo.
“I think there was great national purpose till Pierre Poilievre was elected to the House of Commons,” Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said in an interview, referring to Mr. Poilievre’s return after winning an Alberta by-election. “You saw, almost immediately, the Conservatives turn to obstruction and delay.”
“Fundamentally, they view a day of obstruction as a bad day for the government. And in a minority Parliament, that’s an extremely hard thing to combat, and the only thing you can do is use public opinion.”
Politics Insider: Conservative MP crosses floor to Liberals
In an interview before Mr. Ma’s defection was announced, Mr. MacKinnon insisted several Conservative MPs had privately expressed distaste for their leader’s approach.
The Conservatives, not surprisingly, point the finger of blame back at the government. But the Liberals are clearly gearing up a political message: framing Mr. Poilievre as an unserious leader obstructing serious government business in a time of crisis. It’s a message to lure Conservatives to defect. It’s also the kind of message the Liberals might use if there is a spring election campaign.
There is certainly blame to go around for minority games in Parliament. Conservative whip Chris Warkentin complained Thursday the Liberal government stalled putting their own bail-reform bill up for debate. The Liberals had to split their original borders-and-immigration bill because they slipped in controversial powers to collect personal information without a warrant.
“That’s classic government overreach,” noted Garry Keller, a former Conservative political staffer and senior parliamentary advisor.
On Monday, Conservative MP John Brassard told the Commons that the Liberals had ignored or blocked a long list of efforts to have cabinet ministers testify at parliamentary committees. Even the Liberals admit to some of that – but argue the Conservatives are gumming up the works with excessive calls for ministers to testify on minor topics.
The Liberals, meanwhile, failed to find partners to help them move legislative business.
In Justin Trudeau’s last term, the NDP had a formal agreement to support the Liberals, but they aren’t keen to play that role now. And with only seven MPs, they don’t have seats on parliamentary committees which can now be controlled by the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives if they join forces.
It hasn’t been full-on gridlock. There was a deal on Thursday. Mr. Keller noted that party house leaders still seem to be able to strike practical compromises. Minority parliaments have often functioned with working agreements keeping the place going, while parties sniped at each other.
But there are certainly signs things could deteriorate into dysfunction. The delays and filibusters can deteriorate. The Liberals will grow frustrated if they can’t their key budget bill through a parliamentary committee. The minority games are back.
Now Mr. Carney’s Liberals have fired their own shot over Mr. Poilievre’s head. They are certainly still privately campaigning for more Conservatives to cross the floor in the new year, arguing they can do more in a serious government than an obstructionist opposition. If that fails, the lifespan of this minority Parliament could shorten quickly.