In suspense until the end
I’m Aaron, a senior writer with the parliamentary bureau.
That was an oddly suspenseful budget vote, even by the traditionally dicey standards of a minority Parliament. Generally speaking, we don’t go into a vote like that without knowing what MPs are going to do.
Usually, the budget is presented and the opposition parties quickly stake out their positions — either they’re for, they’re against or they have some demand they wish to put to the government.
The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois followed that basic script. The seven New Democrats remained a curious mystery. They didn’t tell anyone how they would vote, but nor did they make any clear demands upon which their support would be conditioned.
Meanwhile, the Liberals, perhaps confident about their prospects in an election, seemed in no great rush to negotiate publicly or make entreaties to the NDP. And so, even while an election always seemed unlikely, everyone had to wait until this evening to see where exactly those seven MPs went — and, by extension, whether a new federal election would be triggered.
In the end, the New Democrats apparently decided to hold back two votes, seemingly to avoid triggering an election.
It makes for an exciting night in Ottawa, but it’s perhaps not the most sustainable way to run a Parliament.
