Bloc threatens to ‘bring down’ Trudeau gov in October

‘We are going to give them a chance to show us they can earn our confidence, or more precisely Québeckers’ confidence,’ said Bloc Québécois House Leader Alain Therrien. ‘This is a limited time offer.’

Bloc threatens to ‘bring down’ Trudeau gov in October
The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld
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The Trudeau government survived a non-confidence vote by a margin of 211 to 120 on a warning it may be a short reprieve. “This is a limited-time offer,” said Bloc Québécois House Leader Alain Therrien in a thinly veiled threat. 

“There will be plenty of non-confidence votes between now and Christmas and we see no need to hit the ground running,” Therrien told the Commons. “We will have plenty of opportunities,” he added. “There is no rush.” 

The vote on Thursday was the first since New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh formally repudiated his 2022 Supply And Confidence Agreement on September 4. 

At the time, Singh said the Trudeau government was “too weak, too selfish” to work with. New Democrats voted in support of them during the first of many expected non-confidence votes.

“It is negotiation time,” said Therrien. “The Bloc Québécois will try to increase its influence over this government." 

MP Therrien earlier told the Globe and Mail their support won’t come cheap. Among their demands include passing Bill C-319, An Act To Amend The Old Age Security Act, which aims to line up pensions for all seniors, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.

The Bloc also wants Québec to have greater control over immigration. They have repeatedly expressed concerns over the growing number of temporary foreign workers in the province, and their inability to accommodate more.

Additionally, more health care funding and less encroachment of provincial jurisdiction are among their priorities.

“We are going to give them a chance to show us they can earn our confidence, or more precisely Québeckers’ confidence,” said Therrien. “Needless to say this is a limited-time offer.”

The Bloc intends to “bring down the government” if meaningful progress is not made by October 29, reads a statement from Party officials.

The NDP pledged to support the government in confidence matters through June 2025 in exchange for a national pharmacare and a dental plan. Cabinet reneged on the agreement last December 31.

The Conservative Party sponsored Thursday’s sudden-death motion stating: “The House has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the government.” Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre described the Prime Minister as unfit for office by comparison with his predecessor Stephen Harper.

“Our prime minister was respected in the world. He was proud of this country,” Poilievre told the Commons. “He was not dancing around and being laughed out of India or seen in a drunken stupor in some fancy hotel lobby playing the piano the night before the Queen’s funeral.”

Poilievre earlier challenged New Democrats to dissolve Parliament on a Conservative confidence vote on September 16. “That way we can have a carbon tax election where Canadians will decide,” he said.

At the time, New Democrat MPs acknowledged that an election was likely, but not certain. A recent Leger poll found New Democrats lost considerable support over the summer, falling from 20% to 15% between July and August.

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