I'm a liberal...but I can change...if I have to...I guess.
Posted on 11/28/2005 4:06:03 PM PST by Heatseeker
The opposition parties banded together Monday to defeat the Liberal minority government and trigger an election that is expected to culminate in a mid-January vote.
The House passed an historic no-confidence motion exactly one year and five months after Canadian voters elected the Liberals.
Prime Minister Paul Martin will now have to go see Governor General Michaëlle Jean Tuesday morning and ask her to dissolve Parliament.
The Liberal defeat marks the first time a government has fallen on a straight motion of no-confidence in Parliament.
Other minority governments have been forced into elections after losing budget votes or censure motions interpreted as loss of confidence.
Last week, Opposition Leader Stephen Harper officially tabled the motion of no-confidence which read: "That this House has lost confidence in the government."
The Liberals have 133 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 98, the Bloc Quebecois with 53 and the NDP with 18. There are four seats held by Independents.
According to a poll conducted by Environics Research for the CBC, 35 per cent of decided voters said they would vote Liberal. The Conservatives came in at 30 per cent and the NDP were picked by 20 per cent.
With a margin of error +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20, the poll puts the Liberals and Conservatives at a virtual dead heat.
Federal elections have to be held on a Monday and the campaigns have to be at least 36 days long. Martin is expected to call for a slightly longer campaign, setting the vote for mid-January, either the 16th or the 23rd, with an agreement among the parties to take a holiday break and stop campaigning between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.
An eight-week campaign would be the longest the country has seen in two decades.
The last time a government fell at the hands of the opposition was Joe Clark's Conservative government in 1979.
Monday's vote means a number of bills will die on the order paper, among them an act to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and an animal cruelty bill.
>>Is a conservative MP in canada like a John McCain in America ?<<
More like jim jeffords.
The problem is that most of the remaining 38 percent may not vote for the Liberal party, but they will vote liberal (small "l") -- not for the Conservatives. True?
The Conservatives seem to plateau at 30 per cent (give or take) in the polls. I can't recall them ever being higher than that. So, if I understand your question (and I think I do), you're right.
There are three left-wing parties, including the Bloc, who divide about 65 per cent of the vote.
If this had been Harper's government falling, it'd be on page one no doubt.
isnt canada run mostly by french ancestry? certainly would explain their spineless behavior!
Or any mass-market "lite" beer. Same difference...
I thought I understood it right. Very depressing.
Makes me wonder how the Conservatives ever were in power in the 1980s.
The Tories have generally learned from their mistakes and will run an intelligent campaign. The media (predominently left-leaning Toronto Star and CBC) will, of course, attempt to portray Harper as an angry white male with a hidden agenda. I think voters will see through that message but not likely enough to garner a majority government. This time!
bump!
How about a no-confidence vote on the U.S. Democratic Party.
I'm a liberal...but I can change...if I have to...I guess.
Been there done that. ie Joke Lark.
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