4 key dates to watch closely as Carney’s Liberal minority begins
The Liberals may have won a fourth consecutive government in Monday’s federal election, but a new political era — and all the accompanying ceremonies — is still set to begin in Ottawa.
After winning his first seat in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Mark Carney will enter Parliament along with his fellow members later this month. He’ll also take part in the swearing-in of a new cabinet, electing a speaker, delivering a throne speech, and face his first tests of confidence in high-stakes votes.
All these steps must be taken before any new legislation can be introduced or passed — including the government’s first budget.
Here’s what to expect in the coming weeks.
Before Parliament resumes, Carney’s new cabinet ministers will need to be sworn in by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon at a ceremony at Rideau Hall.
A spokesperson for the Privy Council Office told Global News that Carney, who was sworn in as prime minister in March, and other cabinet ministers who keep the same portfolio will not need to take the oath of office again “but may choose to do so.”
Any new ministers, or those taking on additional portfolios, will need to be sworn in.
The date for the cabinet swearing-in ceremony “will be announced in due course,” the spokesperson said.
Carney and his first cabinet were sworn in just days after he won the Liberal leadership race in March, succeeding former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
But some of his cabinet members — including former health minister Kamal Khera — lost their bids for re-election Monday, and the arrival of fresh faces in a stronger minority government means the next cabinet will look different.
“I would anticipate that some of the key figures like Dominic LeBlanc, Melanie Joly, Francois-Philippe Champagne … will come back,” Hamish Telford, a political science professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, told Global News.
“But more broadly, he now has a much wider range of people to work with” within a larger caucus, he added.
The House of Commons is set to return on May 26, which will mark the first day of the 45th Parliament.
All members of Parliament will be sworn in — including Carney, who needs to be sworn in as the member for Nepean — and the next Speaker of the House will be chosen in a vote by all members.
The last Speaker, Liberal Greg Fergus, was re-elected in his riding on Monday and will be a leading contender to return to the position.
A Speech from the Throne will then be delivered outlining the first priorities of the government, officially beginning the session.
Parliament has not sat since last December. It was still on winter break in January when Trudeau prorogued Parliament to allow for a Liberal leadership race to replace him, and Carney called the election days before it was due to return in late March.
“Having Parliament back is a good thing,” said Michael Wernick, a former clerk of the Privy Council and now the Jarislowsky Chair in public sector management at the University of Ottawa.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to show Canadian unity and solidarity.”
After the throne speech is delivered, the government will introduce a motion that triggers up to six days of debate, after which the House of Commons will effectively vote on approving the speech and the government’s agenda.
The motion effectively serves as the first measure of confidence in the government, as passing it would allow the government to begin carrying out its legislative priorities.
Because the Liberals are currently projected to hold 168 seats in the House of Commons, they will need just three more votes from other parties to pass the supply motion.
The NDP are projected to hold seven seats, while the Bloc Quebecois — whose leader Yves-François Blanchet this week called for a “partisan truce” with other federal party leaders to prioritize negotiations with the U.S. — will hold 23 seats.
Neither party — particularly the NDP, which lost official party status — will be looking to trigger another election anytime soon, Telford said.
Even the Conservatives, Wernick said, may “go through the rituals” of opposing a government bill but then hold back enough members as necessary “so that they don’t bring the government down accidentally.”
The next hurdle for the Carney government will be the introduction and passage of its first budget.
Federal budgets are typically delivered in the spring, but that was delayed this year due to the election.
The House of Commons calendar currently has a June 20 sitting as the final day before a lengthy summer break.
The final budget-related document delivered before the election was last year’s fall economic statement, which was overshadowed by Chrystia Freeland’s abrupt resignation as finance minister hours before she was set to introduce it.
Her move marked a high-profile blow that added pressure on Trudeau to resign as prime minister.
All eyes will be on how the first Liberal budget under Carney differs from that fall fiscal update — which forecast a $48.3 billion deficit for the current fiscal year and $24.2 billion in new spending over six years — given Carney’s economic bona fides as former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England.
The Liberal platform unveiled during the campaign promised $35.2 billion in new spending over the next year and $129 billion over the next four years, which would lead to further deficits in those years. The four-year figure includes a one percentage-point tax cut to the lowest income bracket.
Carney has also pledged to separate the budget into operating and capital streams, and balance the operating side by 2028-2029. But he would still run a $48 billion deficit on the capital side for that fiscal year, according to the platform.
The budget will also serve as another test of confidence in the minority government.
“I think we will stress test the configuration of the new Parliament very soon” with these early bills, Wernick said.
—with files from the Canadian Press
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