Canadian Politics Hypothetical

[jamesq]

Question for you political wonks out there. Can a sitting government lose a non-confidence vote and not have to dissolve the government and call an election? What if the opposition simply doesn't like the motion, but doesn't think they'll do better in the ensuing election? Is it a matter of take the good with the bad (I suspect this is the truth of the matter, but want some confirmation).

I'm thinking the current opposition might not have the guts to pull the trigger on the federal Conservatives. Conversely, the Conservatives might introduce some real stinkers in the next sitting that the opposition will have to vote down.

Could we find ourselves in a situation where the government still stands, but can't actually do anything?

Comments

[evilscientist.livejournal.com]

In the federal parliament, it's generally considered that government money bills, throne speeches and bills specifically marked as non-confidence motions are confidence motions. It's possible for a government to have bills defeated as long as they don't fit into the above categories. It is, of course, the right of the PM to decide if any bill is a non-confidence motion and then ask for parliament to be dissolved if the government loses.

As the link to the King-Bing affair above indicates, it is up to the Governor General to dissolve parliament or choose another PM from the other parties, but that rarely happens.