Carney, Poilievre square off in question period ahead of final budget voteLeader of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre and Prime Minister Mark Carney sparred in question period only hours before the third, and final, confidence vote on Budget 2025 is set to take place.The LatestMPs are expected to vote on whether to approve the Liberal government’s budget at around 6:45 p.m. ET.Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget calls for billions of dollars in new spending to help the economy in the face of the trade war, along with cuts to the public service the government says would save billions of dollars.Budget votes are treated like confidence votes, so Canadians will be heading to another election if the Liberals’ plan doesn’t pass today.The Liberals don’t have enough votes to pass the budget on their own.November 174 minutes agoIf government falls, a trip to Rideau Hall Catharine TunneyIf (and it remains a big if) the Liberals’ budget is defeated tonight, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon can expect a visit. The most likely scenario would see Carney, having lost the confidence of the House of Commons, ask Simon to dissolve Parliament — sending Canadians to the polls.More unlikely: The Governor General could ask the leader of the Opposition to form a new government, which could be seen as going against convention. The last time a Governor General turned down the advice of the prime minister was the 1926 “King-Byng Affair” — which led to a constitutional crisis.Simon is recovering from a respiratory virus, so if this scenario does play out it could be Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner who takes the Carney meeting as the King’s representative. 6 minutes agoMay: ‘I’m going to vote yes’Darren MajorGreen Leader Elizabeth May just said that she will vote for the budget.May said she has heard from constituents that they “wanted someone to stop an election happening by accident.”May still cited concerns about the budget, specifically that it doesn’t mention Canada’s climate targets that were outlined in the Paris agreement.She asked the government in question period if it is still committed to climate targets, to which Carney responded by saying he will respect the Paris commitments.The Green leader said after question period was over that this commitment from Carney helped her make the decision.May’s vote helps the Liberals, but doesn’t guarantee the budget will pass. With her vote, the government needs one more opposition MP to vote for the budget — or two to abstain.20 minutes agoCarney hasn’t courted opposition parties like some of his predecessors John Paul TaskerCarney met with opposition leaders before tabling this budget.And Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne included some spending commitments and new programs that appeal to Bloc and NDP MPs in particular, including infrastructure projects for certain ridings, a Youth Climate Corps and a hike to CBC/Radio-Canada funding, among other initiatives.But the government hasn’t bent over backwards to court opposition parties in the weeks leading up to this vote.As you likely remember, former prime minister Justin Trudeau essentially adopted big chunks of the NDP agenda as his own — including pharmacare and dental care — to secure its support for a multi-year confidence-and-supply agreement.And in 2005, former prime minister Paul Martin agreed to spend some $4.6 billion on various NDP priorities to secure votes for his budget in that minority Parliament.There’s none of that with this prime minister. It’s not quite a take or leave it approach — but it’s close. Carney is essentially daring the Opposition to vote against this budget and prompt an election so soon after the last one.24 minutes agoCan the economy stay afloat?Peter ArmstrongThe fact remains that there’s very real damage being done to the Canadian economy and to Canadian businesses right now. So the toughest obstacle to the budget isn’t necessarily just in implementing some sweeping changes, nor is it even in seeing if the bet pays off.The hard part will be making sure the Canadian economy keeps its head above water.If Canada can stave off a recession, keep the unemployment rate from rising further and avoid further escalation in the trade war, it will be much easier to implement the changes mapped out in this budget. But that is a tall order, and at least some of it is out of the Canadian government’s control.25 minutes agoThe budget charts a difficult path out of the current crisis — with a small margin of errorPeter ArmstrongFinance minister sells budget as ‘pivotal change in our nation’s history’ Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne responds to skepticism that his first budget can deliver its claim of $1 trillion in total investment over five years, and defends the value of the budget’s $78-billion deficit. Champagne tells MPs from other parties ‘to think twice’ before deciding not to support the document as it remains unclear where the Liberals will find enough support to pass it.Good afternoon. I’m the CBC’s senior business correspondent. The 2025 budget plots a path for the Canadian economy to emerge from the current crisis. But it also highlights just how deep a hole the economy is in right now and how small the margin for error is as Canada navigates the perils of a trade war.Under the budget’s “downside scenario,” the Canadian economy would contract through the quarter running from April to June. Unemployment would peak around 7.4 per cent and Canadian growth would be weak for several years.”Nominal GDP [would be] on average lower by $51 billion per year over the forecast horizon relative to the August 2025 survey forecast,” the budget says.That scenario would see a further weakening of the Canadian economy — and it’s not far-fetched. It’s possible that next month’s GDP numbers will show Canada slipped into a recession this summer and unemployment has been rising for months.27 minutes agoCarney and Poilievre share a laughCatharine TunneyDespite the stakes of tonight’s vote, and the seriousness of debating the budget, there’s been moments of levity in the House. At one point Carney made some kind of direct comment to Poilievre, who sits across the aisle.I couldn’t hear the comment up in the gallery — there’s still a lot of heckling from both sides — but Poilievre threw his head back laughing. Carney was all smiles too.32 minutes agoCatharine TunneyAs qp wears on, Liberals continue to repeat their lines that there is something for all the opposition parties — and their constituents — in their budget. It’s a line they were spinning even before the budget was tabled.The Conservatives and Bloc continue to push back.“We introduce a historical budget,” said New Brunswick Liberal MP Wayne Long“It’s historical,” someone from the opposition shouted back. “Generational debt.”34 minutes agoPrimal fear … of a runaway deficit? Catharine TunneyQuestion period is as feisty as ever — Poilievre leading with accountability issues. Both sides are getting in their heckling, although the Opposition benches are louder to my ear. There’s a special guest watching from the gallery: Hollywood star Richard Gere, who is in Ottawa to discuss human rights issues in Tibet. He received a standing ovation before qp officially got underway, with one heckler from the government side yelling “Gere for leader” — a likely jab at Poilievre.34 minutes ago‘You’ll see soon’Darren MajorThe NDP seems to be holding its cards close to the chest.MP Heather McPherson — who is running to lead the party — was asked on her way into the House how she will vote.The only comment she offered was a quick “You’ll see soon.”44 minutes agoBudget week turned into a Conservative nightmareCatharine TunneyIs Pierre Poilievre’s leadership in trouble?CBC’s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton asks The National’s At Issue panel about Pierre Poilievre’s leadership after one Conservative MP crosses the floor and another resigns and what it could mean for Poilievre’s support within the party. Matt Jeneroux, the MP for the Alberta riding of Edmonton Riverbend, announced his resignation from the House of Commons on Thursday. The move came two days after former Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont joined the Liberals. Hi. I’m Cat Tunney, a senior reporter with CBC’s parliamentary bureau. For the Opposition, budget week is typically a communications gold rush. It’s an easy way for other benches to call out government spending, clamour about what’s been included and criticize what’s left out.Poilievre has built his brand on calling out Liberal spending and being an attack dog in the House, making Carney’s first budget and its $78-billion deficit an easy target for the seasoned MP. Instead of being the one on the offensive, the Conservative leader ended the week playing defence — down one MP to his rivals, another resigning from federal politics altogether and questions now swirling about his leadership.We spoke with a number of sources about how the week fell apart for Poilievre and found the trouble started before the budget even dropped.
May will support budget, says Carney heard her ‘pleas’ on climate
