The federal Conservatives will get their first chance to try to topple the Liberal government next week, Global News has learned.
A spokesperson for Liberal House leader Karina Gould’s office said it has tentatively scheduled the first “opposition day” for next Tuesday, Sept. 24, where the Conservatives will be allowed to set the agenda for the House of Commons and introduce bills — including a potential motion of non-confidence.
If such a motion is introduced, it will be debated on Tuesday and voted on the following day, Sept. 25, according to Gould’s office and a Conservative source who spoke to Global News on background.
It’s not yet clear exactly what motion or bill could be introduced Tuesday.
A confidence vote can trigger a snap election if a government cannot get that majority of support on a matter that is a test of confidence.
The Conservatives would have to win the support of the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois for any non-confidence motion to be successful.
Notably, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York City next week, meaning he is not expected to be in Ottawa for a possible confidence vote.
The opposition day will come just over a week after the House of Commons reconvened Monday from a summer break that saw a dramatic sea change in the political landscape.
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had vowed to seek a confidence vote at the earliest possible opportunity after the NDP pulled out of its supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals that ensured the minority government would stay in power until next fall.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has publicly resisted Poilievre’s calls for him to pledge support on a non-confidence motion, saying the NDP will now consider votes on a case-by-case basis.
The Liberals are reeling from a major byelection defeat in what has historically been a Montreal stronghold Monday night, which comes three months after it lost a historically safe Toronto riding to the Conservatives this summer.
Trudeau and the Liberals continue to face a significant polling deficit against the Conservatives.
Just over one-third of Canadians (33 per cent) approve of the Trudeau government, according to an Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News and released on Monday. That approval rating is down by four points since the last time Ipsos did a similar poll in June.
Poilievre was favoured by 45 per cent of Canadians surveyed by Ipsos, who said he would make the “best prime minister of Canada,” compared to just 26 per cent who said the same of Trudeau.
However, a small majority of Canadians surveyed a week earlier by Ipsos said they want opposition parties to work together to avoid triggering an election before next fall.
Canada’s fixed election date law means a federal election must happen no later than October 2025.
—With files from Global’s Mercedes Stephenson, Uday Rana and Saba Aziz
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.