Poilievre’s first chance to topple Trudeau government expected next week

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is set to get his first chance to topple Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government next week, CTV News has confirmed.

While the legislative agenda could still shift, the first Conservative opposition day has tentatively been scheduled for Tuesday, according to sources on both sides of the aisle.

That’s when Poilievre can present his promised motion of non-confidence in the prime minister, forcing the House of Commons to spend the day debating it.

The vote on this first major test of the new minority dynamics in Parliament would then come on Wednesday.

It remains to be seen how the Conservatives craft the wording of the motion, and how that may impact whether other parties get behind it.

In order to pass, the majority of the current 336 MPs would need to vote to say they no longer have confidence in Trudeau.

Right now, the Liberals hold 154 seats, and the Conservatives have 119. After Monday’s byelections, there are now 33 Bloc MPs and 25 New Democrats. The Green party holds two seats and there are also three Independents.

Heading into the fall sitting, Poilievre pledged to advance a non-confidence motion to defeat the Liberal minority at his first opportunity and called on the other opposition parties to back him.

Behind this push is the Conservative leader’s desire for a snap “carbon tax election” now that the NDP-Liberal supply-and-confidence deal is caput, telling Trudeau in question period on Monday that his “time is up.” 

Asked repeatedly this week how they’d vote on this anticipated first non-confidence motion, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Green Party Elizabeth May all said they’d need to see the text of any hypothetical motion before stating their position.

The government sets the schedule for when opposition days occur, and the Liberals appear to be making good on their pledge to not have MPs wait long before allowing this first major test to take place. 

There are 11 and a half sitting weeks on the House calendar this fall, and within that timeframe, there are seven allotted opposition days for the non-governing parties to set the agenda and advance motions of their choosing. That means that if the Conservatives’ first crack at declaring non-confidence in Trudeau is unsuccessful, the party will have additional opportunities.