Canadian Government Executive - Volume 27 - Issue 05

28 / Canadian Government Executive // September/October 2021 T he general election held in September produced a minority Parliament that, with respect to the par- ties’ standings in the House of Commons, will look very similar to the one that existed prior to dissolu- tion. The majority that the Liberals were looking for proved evasive, and there is speculation that the Liberals and the New Democrats will form some sort of formal partnership to en- sure that Parliament will be stable in the coming years. However, such formality is not necessary to avoid the defeat of the govern- ment, nor is it politically desirable for either party. The next Parlia- ment is likely to function much like the last one did, with the Liber- als governing as though they had a majority amidst fake suspense around whether they will lose a confidence vote. There are a few reasons why the Liberals and the NDP will not form a coalition, despite the overlap between their platforms and priorities. First, political parties in Canada are adversarial in na- ture. They do not play together well, even when they agree on things. They think in zero-sum terms; a gain for “them” is a loss for “us.” While members of a political party tend to unite around a set of common values, priorities, and interests, the main objective and purpose of a political party is to win as many votes as possible. Therefore, any sort of formal partnership is very difficult to fathom in our political system because it would require the parties involved to shift their strategies toward a shared interest rather than compet- ing interests. They would no longer be able to throw mud at one another or to question one another’s integrity or competence in the same way that they do now. Second, a true coalition government would involve having more than one party represented in cabinet. This would be an extreme departure from how cabinet government has evolved in Canada. Being a cabinet minister means being sworn into the Queen’s Privy Council and, as an active member of the executive, being in the know on the issues facing the government. The cabinet table is where key political strategies are developed and where ministers speak freely and candidly about policy proposals. Having more than one party around that table is counterintuitive to the reality of party politics. How would the parties then campaign against one another in the next election? Why would the Liberals want to share its plans and strategies with the NDP? How could the Liberals justify any of this to their supporters, many of whom do not want anything to do THE LAST WORD HOW WILL THIS MINORITY PARLIAMENT WORK? BY LORI TURNBULL Photo. Parliament of Canada