Prospects for the Next Parliament
As the 2021 federal election campaign winds down, we seem to be heading for a “hung Parliament” -- a Parliament in which no single party can form a stable and sustainable government on its own or, put another way, without the cooperation of members from other parties. The poll aggregate sites show a slight (16%) chance that the Liberals will end up with a majority of at least 170 seats in the House of Commons. The Conservatives’ chances of gaining a majority are now down to 1%. Far more likely (83%) is that no party will have a majority. What happens then? Under our constitution the sitting government (the Liberal Party in this case) may have fewer seats than the Conservatives who themselves fall short of a majority. In these circumstances,Trudeau would still be entitled to meet Parliament and try to win a “vote of confidence”. They could win that vote if one or more of the other parties agreed to support a Liberal Prime Minister, the present one or someone new either within the new Li