The 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, during the 40th Canadian Parliament, was triggered by the expressed intention of the opposition parties (who together held a majority of seats in the House of Commons) to defeat the Conservative minority government on a motion of non-confidence six weeks after the federal election of October 14, 2008.
The intention to vote non-confidence arose from the government's fiscal update, tabled on November 27. It included several contentious provisions that the opposition parties rejected and that the government later withdrew to resolve the crisis. The Liberal Party and New Democratic Party reached an accord to form a minority coalition government. The Bloc Québécois agreed to provide support on confidence votes, thereby enabling the coalition a working majority in the Commons. On December 4, Governor General Michaëlle Jean (the representative of the Canadian monarch and head of state, Elizabeth II) granted Prime Minister Stephen Harper (the head of government) a prorogation on the condition that parliament reconvene early in the new year; the date was set as January 26, 2009. The first session of the 40th parliament thus ended, delaying a vote of no-confidence.
After prorogation, the Liberals underwent a change in leadership and distanced themselves from the coalition agreement, while the NDP and Bloc remained committed to bringing down the government. The Conservative government's budget, unveiled on January 27, largely met the demands of the Liberals, who agreed to support it with an amendment to the budget motion.
Background
The 39th Canadian Parliament produced a Conservative minority government headed by Stephen Harper that lasted for two and a half years. On September 7, 2008, the Prime Minister was granted a dissolution of parliament followed by a snap election. Harper justified recommending the dissolution by stating that parliament had become dysfunctional and that his government required a new mandate.
During the election campaign, movements for strategic voting to defeat the government came from a variety of sources. The Liberals and the Green Party formed an agreement not to run candidates against their respective leaders and a national Anything But Conservative (ABC) campaign was created by Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams. The election also took place at the height of the financial crisis of 2007–2008, which saw governments in the United States and United Kingdom take drastic measures to stimulate their economies and bail out failing financial institutions. The Conservatives promised to stand firm with Canada's fiscal course, while the other parties began to promise greater stimulus measures.
The October 14 vote saw an increase in the Conservative seat count from 127 to 143—still a plurality—while the Liberals, led by Stéphane Dion, returned as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, with 77 seats, down from 103. Two other parties, the New Democratic Party (NDP), with 37 seats, up from 29 seats, and the Bloc Québécois, with 49 seats, down from 51 seats, together with two independent members of parliament, were elected to the House of Commons. A week after the election, Dion announced his plan to resign as Liberal leader, staying on as leader until a successor was chosen.
The dispute
Catalyst and formation of a coalition
On November 27, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty provided the House of Commons with a fiscal update, within which were plans to cut government spending, suspend the ability of civil servants to strike until 2011, sell off some Crown assets to raise capital, and eliminate the existing $1.95 per vote subsidy parties garner in an election. Since money bills are matters of confidence, the opposition was forced to consider whether to accept the motion or bring down the government. Flaherty's update was ultimately rejected on the grounds that it lacked any fiscal stimulus during the ongoing economic crisis, for its suspension of federal civil servants' ability to strike, for suspending the right for women to seek recourse from the courts for pay equity issues, and for the change in election financing rules.