Ottawa:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau survived a second no-confidence vote in as many weeks on Tuesday, again challenged by his main Tory rival, who was intent on ousting his beleaguered Liberals.
The 207-121 vote was largely a repeat of the Conservatives’ failed attempt last week to trigger a snap election, in which two smaller factions in parliament sided with Trudeau’s minority government.
The motion accuses the government of failing to address the housing crisis, rising crime and the cost of living, and of being “the most centralizing government in Canadian history.”
With a 20-point lead in opinion polls, Tory leader Pierre Poilievre has been hoping to go to the polls since the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) last month tore up a coalition agreement with the Liberals, leaving the Trudeau administration vulnerable to being toppled.
But the NDP and other opposition parties, whose support is needed to oust the Liberals, opposed his right-wing agenda.
Still, Poilievre vowed to keep trying.
In Canada’s Westminster Parliamentary System, the governing party must enjoy the confidence of the House of Commons, which means maintaining the support of a majority of members.
The Liberals currently have 153 seats, compared to 119 for the Conservatives, 33 for the Bloc Quebecois and 25 for the NDP.
Trudeau came to power in 2015 and managed to hold onto two elections in 2019 and 2021.
But his popularity has waned and he has faced a string of setbacks in recent months, including by-election losses in two of his party’s strongholds.
A deal with the New Democratic Party to prop up the Liberals would have kept his government in power until the end of 2025.
But the NDP, seeing its alliance with the Liberals as damaging to its own popularity, left the pact early.
Most analysts told AFP they did not expect Canadians to vote before the spring of 2025, but added that the situation was fluid.
Meanwhile, the Liberals have been left weakened as they seek to continue governing in a fractured parliament.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published by a syndicated channel.)
