Canadian Government Executive - Volume 25 - Issue 04

T he 2019 general election produced a minority parlia- ment, to no one’s surprise. As the campaign drew to a close, popular support for the Liberals and Conservatives seemed to congeal at around 30-32 per cent apiece, which precluded a majority outcome for either one. The Liberals won 157 seats, which is 13 seats shy of a majority but a healthy enough plurality for the Liberals to have a commanding presence in the House. Both the New Democrat and the Bloc Quebecois caucuses are large enough on their own to act as kingmakers and to keep the government alive. Minority governments in Canada tend to be regarded as tempo- rary periods of instability to be resolved (read: dissolved) as soon as a majority government is in reach. However, the federal par- ties are not going to be eager to head back to the polls any time soon. For one thing, their coffers are dry, and they need time to build up their resources for another campaign. Fortunately, the seat distribution in the House of Commons suggests that a sta- ble minority government is very possible. Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has suggested that it could even last four years. There is a range of ways to manage the potential uncertainty of minority government. The path taken depends on the politi- cal circumstances at the time, the relationships between parties and party leaders, and the extent to which the parties can find common issues to work on. Several provincial elections have pro- duced minority government in recent years and each of these ju- risdictions has taken a different approach “minority government management.” In British Columbia, the NDP government is supported by the Green Party through an agreement of confidence and supply. The election result was so close in 2017 that this formal arrangement is key to instilling confidence that the relationship between the parties is stable. The Liberal Party was the incumbent going into Minority Governments in Canada By Lori Turnbull The Liberals won 157 seats, which is 13 seats shy of a majority but a healthy enough plurality for the Liberals to have a commanding presence in the House. Photo: www.liberal.ca 28 / Canadian Government Executive // October/November 2019 LAST WORD By Lori Turnbull A look at the 2019 general election