Liberals 'ready for an election' if budget vote fails, says government whip
CBC
As the federal government faces a crucial confidence vote on its budget Monday, government whip Mark Gerretsen says it is "ready for an election" if one is triggered.
In a Sunday interview with Rosemary Barton Live, Gerretsen said his government has reached out to all opposition parties to hear their budget concerns and work toward gaining their support.
If every single member of Parliament were to vote on Monday, the minority Liberals would need opposition support to pass the budget and stave off an election.
Gerretsen said he doesn’t believe Canadians want an election, but that his party will be prepared.
"We're always ready for an election. The Liberal Party has been ready for an election since the last one," he told Barton.
All Liberal members of Parliament will be participating in the Monday evening vote, Gerretsen confirmed.
After Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont crossed the floor from the Conservative Party to the Liberals earlier this month, the Liberals gained one vote — bringing its seat total to 170. That number includes the Speaker, who would only vote to break a tie.
The minority party would need to secure 172 votes in favour of the budget if every member of Parliament were to vote on Monday.
When the budget was introduced earlier this month, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre signalled his opposition to the Liberals’ fiscal policy — and he said last week that his party intends to "unanimously oppose" the motion.
Similarly, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said he could "hardly see" how his party could support the budget. A Bloc spokesperson told CBC News last week that nothing has changed and all Bloc MPs intend to vote against the motion.
That leaves the NDP, with its seven seats, holding the balance. The party has yet to declare which way it will cast its vote.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she’s still undecided on whether she will cast her party's sole vote in favour of the federal budget on Monday.
As it stands, May — the only Green currently sitting in Parliament — says the budget doesn’t show a strong enough commitment to climate policies, but that she has been having conversations with ministers and representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office about whether anything can be done to sway her vote.
Despite her concerns, May says she is open to supporting the government in the vote of confidence.
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