Canadian Government Executive - Volume 26 - Issue 01

18 / Canadian Government Executive // January/February 2020 GOVERNMENT As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals deal with the new reality of the minority Parliament, their senior House leadership team is holding a high-stakes “tactics meeting” every morning when the House is sitting to plot strategy for the Commons and committees, Liberal sources told The Hill Times. Senior House Liberals hold ‘tactics meeting’ every morning to plot daily strategy in minority Parliament By Abbas Rana It’s high stakes: I n interviews in early February, Lib- eral sources said the daily “tactics” meeting takes place at 8:30 a.m. in the West Block, and that senior elected officials and staffers attend. The top Liberals who attend this meeting in- clude Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez (Honoré-Mercier, Que.); Deputy House Leader Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke, Ont.); Parliamentary secretary to the Gov- ernment House Leader Kevin Lamoureux; Chief Government Whip Mark Holland (Ajax, Ont.); and Deputy Whip Ginette Pe- titpas Taylor (Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, N.B.). They’re joined by some senior House leader’s office staffers. Those who attend review the previous day’s House and committee proceedings, and strategize for the day that’s about to start. These meetings are usually about 30 minutes long and happen only when the House is sitting. Liberal sources told The Hill Times they’re trying to ensure a smooth working relationship with all opposition parties, which is critical for any minority govern- ment to succeed. They said it’s a major challenge considering that a minority gov- ernment is a new experience for an over- whelming majority of Liberals MPs. This is the first minority government in Canada since Stephen Harper’s Conservatives won a majority in 2011. Ms. Petitpas-Taylor is the only member of the House leadership team who has never served in a minority Parliament. Both Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Holland were first elected in the 2004 Liberal minority government, and have also served in the 2006 and 2008 Conservative minority gov- ernments. Both lost the 2011 election then returned to the House in 2015. Ms. Duncan was first elected in the 2008 Conserva- tive minority government and has been re-elected in the 2011, 2015, and 2019 elec- tions. Mr. Lamoureux was first elected in a Nov. 2010 byelection and served only a few months in Mr. Harper’s minority govern- ment. Ms. Petitpas-Taylor was elected in 2015, and so this is the first minority gov- ernment for her. Ms. Duncan and Ms. Pet- itpas-Taylor served as cabinet ministers in the last Liberal majority government. In the last federal election, the Liberals won 157 seats, the Conservatives 121, Bloc Québécois 32, the NDP 24, the Green Party three, and one Independent MP was elect- ed. In the 338-member House, the Liberals needed 170 votes for a majority government. In comparison, the Liberals won a majority government in 2015 with 184 seats. The Con- servatives won 99 seats, the NDP 44, the Bloc 10, and the Green Party only one seat. House of Commons. Photo by Adam Scotti (PMO)