|
Non-confidence vote typically only occur when there is a minority government in power. To understand how power is held in Canada you need to understand the we run a Parlimentary style of government in Canada.
The house of commons is filled with members of parliament elected by the people of Canada. The country is divided into ridings (district) and each province has a different number ridings based on population (this is why Ontario and Quebec are said to decide an election... they have the bulk of the population and therefore the bulk of the seats available come from these provinces).
Each political party (there are currently 11 registered political parties of which only 4 or 5 are relevant) runs candidates and after the election, the party with the most members of parliament (MPs) elected is asked by the Govenor General to form the government. The government is then formed. The ruling party's leader becomes the Prime Minister and appoints a cabinet made up of elected MPs from their party. The Cabinet and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is where the real power resides.
The party with the second highest number of seats forms the official opposition. As the official opposition you get some perks in terms of spending powers and office space. The most important perk is the ability to be first to ask questions during question period (this is the time when the House sits that the opposition gets to pose questions to the government about what they are doing - it can be quite lively).
The other opposition parties also get to ask questions but they are not given the priority of the official opposition.
In the case where the ruling party has more seats than the combined number of opposition seat there is a what is called a Majority Government. When this happens the government is one of the most powerful in the western world. They can pass laws, approve budgets, etc. as they like. They will get their feet held to the fire by the opposition if the laws are bad and eventually they will have to face the electorate (by the way, one of the powers of the government is deciding when to call the election - once in power they can call an election anytime as long as it occurs before 5 years).
When the opposition powers hold more seats than the government (i.e. the government party has the most number of seats but less than the combined number of seats held by the other parties) this is called a Minority Government. In this case, the government is in a much weaker position. The proceedures of the House are the same except there is always the possibility that the Government could lose the confidence of the house.
A loss of confidence occurs when a certain type of vote in the house, a confidence vote (which is typically around budgetary issues and the like - or the unique case of this last government where they fell on a specific vote to determin if the House had confidence in the government) is held and the opposition party vote the government's motion down (remember they out number the government). Not all motions are confidence issues, some procedural votes are excluded and will not bring the government down if the vote doesn't pass.
Ultimately, even a Majority could be brought down by a vote of non-confidence BUT that would require their own member to vote against their own party in significant enough numbers to defeat the motion brought forth by the government. This could... but never does happen.
Is this as clear as mud or does it make sense?
__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke
|