Trucker convoy organizers' coalition proposal 'a non-starter,' expert says

As the trucker convoy demonstrations continue, organizers of the protest have suggested that they would be willing to form a coalition with opposition parties, given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has indicated no intent to meet or negotiate with them. This suggestion has been called 'a non-starter' by one expert, and has been rebuked by the public safety minister as an attempt to overthrow the government.

At an “emergency press conference” held by some of the protest organizers on Monday night and later posted on YouTube, self-declared spokesperson Tom Marazzo proposed that a core group of organizers and their supporters could sit at a table “with the Conservatives, and the NDP, and the Bloc as a coalition.”

Though this suggestion is “a non-starter,” according to Michael Kempa, associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa. “No other external party can become part of a coalition government. That's just not how a constitutional democracy works,” Kempa said in an interview Tuesday on CTV News Channel.

Generally speaking, federal governments in this country remain in power between elections so long as they maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. The Governor General’s role is limited, but does include the discretion to discern what happens after confidence is lost, whether an election is required or if other federal parties should be given a chance at forming government.

This latest coalition suggestion appears to be an evolution of a previous proposal from a widely circulated “memorandum of understanding” from a group called “Canada Unity” that is taking part in the convoy.