TRENTON (Canada), Nov 18 — Canada’s Liberal government survived by a white-knuckle two-vote margin on its proposed CAN$141 billion (US$100 billion) budget on Monday, meaning the country will be spared the turmoil of a federal election, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
It was the slimmest of wins – 170 to 168 – for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals, and it may have failed if a Conservative lawmaker had not abandoned his party ahead of the vote and “crossed the floor” to join the Liberals.
There are 343 seats in Parliament, and debate raged back and forth up to the Monday vote.
It was a touch-and-go vote to secure the necessary majority to pass the budget. Two members of the New Democratic Party and two Conservatives abstained.
In dramatic fashion, Green Party leader Elizabeth May, who had been sitting on the fence, met Carney on Monday morning and was promised some environmental measures. It was enough for May, who said she would now vote in favour of the budget – and did.
The final vote took only about 20 minutes.
Don Davies, interim leader of the New Democratic Party, said that although the budget did not meet the needs of Canadians, it was right to pass it.
The budget “failed to meet the moment,” Davies said, but “Canadians did not want an election only six months after the last one.”
The Conservative Party voted against it because, said leader Pierre Poilievre, it would balloon the country’s deficit. – Anadolu Ajansi
