Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks as he attends a press conference on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, in New York, U.S., September 24, 2024. / REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo

Political ferocity was at its peak as the Canadian House of Commons took up  Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s no-confidence motion to topple the minority Liberal government on a day when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was away in the United States attending the General Assembly session of the United Nations. A vote on the motion is scheduled for tomorrow as leaders of both Bloc Quebecois and the  NDP were candid in opposing the motion, a debate on which continued till the evening.

Using  “Costs are up, Taxes are up, Crime is up and Time is up” as a common rhetoric in support of their motion, Conservative MPs held that Canada was no more a country it was 10 years ago. NDP and Bloc Quebecois members were also critical of the minority Liberal government but maintained that  Conservatives had no specific agenda except for its craving for power. Going by the discourse of the debate, the opposition parties directed their energies to turn the discussion on the no-confidence motion into a referendum on the Conservative party’s policies instead.

If they vote no, the motion will be defeated and the minority Liberal government will survive its first test since its supply-and-confidence deal with the NDP ended earlier this month.

A senior Bloc Quebecois MP said that his party would give a chance to the minority Liberals government in return for the Quebec package.  The Bloc Quebecois would rather use the opportunity to negotiate with the Liberals, rather than trigger an election that would likely install Poilievre as prime minister.

“We listen to the Conservatives and are not sure that we’re so eager to see them take power,” the Bloc’s House leader Alain Therrien said holding that the leader of the Opposition has no plan to address the challenges of Quebec’s distinct society.

“There are situations in Quebec that are quite different from the rest of Canada,” he said, holding that there would be many more chances before Christmas to bring down the government. “We want to give them a chance,” he said.

The Bloc has asked the Liberals to clear the funding for its private member’s bill to raise pension payments for seniors under 75. The Treasury Bench speakers, however, did not promise anything on the pension demand.

Earlier,  when an NDP member wanted to know from the Conservatives their stand on the continuation of the dental care plan, the question remained unanswered.

Speaking to reporters before the day’s session, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated his position on the no-confidence motion.

“The Conservatives’ vision for Canada is one where they cut and gut health care,” Singh said. “They want to cut pharma care, they want to cut dental care, they want to cut health care and privatize it, so their corporate buddies can make money off the pain of people.”

 The NDP wants to fix programs the Tories want to eliminate, He said, while repeating “We will be voting no to the Conservative motion, we will be voting no to Conservative cuts”.

The Liberals, Singh said, are far too weak to be a match for the Conservatives in a general election — adding the NDP is the only party capable of standing up to the government and that his party’s byelection victory in Winnipeg proves it.

He said that while things were bad under the Trudeau Liberals, he held a Conservative government would be even worse.

Pierre Poilievre while introducing the motion declared his plan  “to bring home the promise of Canada, of a powerful paycheque that earns affordable food, gas and homes and safe neighbourhoods where anyone from anywhere can do anything. The biggest and most open land of opportunity the world has ever seen: that is our vision.”

He held that if “axe the tax” elections were held he would lower taxes and eliminate the carbon price, instead fighting climate change by approving large-scale green projects and using the revenues to reduce government debt. “We will cap government spending with a dollar-for-dollar law that requires we find $1 of savings for every new dollar of spending.

“We will cut bureaucracy, waste and consulting contracts,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre and his party members are not specific about where those cuts will come from.

“But that promise, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal prime minister, is broken,” he said in the House.

Talking about the rising costs, he said that the number of people lining up outside food banks was growing. Housing was another major issue. “Everything costs more with two million people lining up at food banks because they cannot afford food — this is a record-smashing number.”

“Housing costs have doubled so that two-thirds of young people believe they would never be able to afford a home. That has never happened in Canadian history,” Poilievre said in his speech. He also referred to the growing number of tented encampments in various parts of the country.

The next federal election, Poilievre maintained, would be a referendum on Canada’s contentious carbon tax which he said does little but add to the misery of Canadians.

“Here’s the existential choice: Do we go to a 61-cent-per-litre carbon tax, making us among the highest-taxed fuel in all the world, a tax that will grind our economy to a halt?” Poilievre said.

“We will fight climate change and protect our economy with technology, not taxes.”

The Leader of the Opposition was also critical of certain media houses accusing them of bias.

If the motion is carried on Wednesday to indicate the defeat of the government, Canada would head for an immediate election, almost a year ahead of the schedule.  

The Conservatives used their chance to introduce a non-confidence motion on Thursday during a second opposition day in the House of Commons. There are seven opposition days required this fall, of which five will go to the Conservatives.