MPs adopt budget bill after Poilievre calls on Parliament to work 'all summer long' to rewrite it

MPs passed the government's budget bill on Thursday, after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his caucus wants to work through the summer to drastically change it.

The House of Commons passed Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act, by a vote of 177 to 146 on Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Poilievre called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to revoke the budget and table a new one.

"I'm calling on [Trudeau] to do the honourable thing, to put aside his pride and his personal ego and cancel this budget," Poilievre said in a news conference Thursday.

"He should also cancel his summer vacation. Conservatives are prepared to work all summer long to rewrite a budget that balances budgets in order to bring down inflation and interest rates, and that cancels all increases in taxes."

It wasn't immediately clear what, if anything, Poilievre could do to "rewrite" the budget, a document drafted by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and her department.

Poilievre repeated many of the points he made in a long speech in the House of Commons Wednesday night and in his remarks earlier this week. He said household debt levels in Canada, rebounding inflation and rising interest rates since the budget was introduced in March make amendments necessary.

The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate to 4.75 per cent on Wednesday. Statistics Canada reported a slight bump in inflation in April, with the Consumer Price Index hitting 4.4 per cent compared to 4.3 in March.

WATCH | 'Cancel this budget,' Poilievre tells Trudeau

Poilievre added in French that Conservative senators will continue his party's fight against the bill when it reaches the upper chamber. 

The government's representative in the Senate, Que. Sen. Marc Gold, could introduce time allocation to speed up the legislative process and shut down debate. In April, Gold moved time allocation on Bill C-11, legislation to modernize the broadcasting regulatory regime, after Poilievre and Conservative senators railed against it for months.

"I'm going to inherit this mess as prime minister, but I'm going to do everything I can as leader of the opposition to mitigate it and make sure that we save the homes and the financial future of our people," Poilievre said.

"Could [Trudeau] not cancel his summer vacation to fight the inflation that he has caused in our country? Could he not put the mortgage payments of ordinary Canadians ahead of his tan or his surfing lessons? I think he could."

The House of Commons usually rises over the summer and is set to suspend its work on June 23 until Sept. 18.

Responding to Poilievre's demand Thursday, Government House leader Mark Holland defended the budget bill and said the Conservative leader hasn't been specific enough in his criticism.