On Monday, November 18, MPs in the House of Commons narrowly passed the federal budget, which prevents a December election since under Commonwealth parliamentary norms budget bills are considered de facto confidence votes.
170 MPs, including all Liberals as well as the Green Party’s Elizabeth May, voted for budget while 168 voted against. Four MPs abstained, reducing the threshold for the budget to pass. Two of those abstentions came from NDP MPs, another from Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux who is planning on resigning, and a 4th from Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs who was on approved medical leave as she was recovering from a recent surgery and was not present on Parliament Hill.
NDP Interim Leader Don Davies stated his party could not support the budget, but that the NDP also did not want an election. This stance likely comes from the ongoing NDP leadership process combined with their democratic socialist distaste for the Liberals’ budget cuts.
The Conservatives opposed the budget with Pierre Poilievre criticizing the Liberals for the $78-billion deficit which contradicted Mark Carney’s campaign promises regarding fiscal responsibility.