Liberals give rivals chance to force election

Trudeau defiant after byelection defeat in Montreal stronghold

- TONDA MACCHARLES, ALEX BALLINGALL AND ALTHIA RAJ

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could see his government fall next week after the Liberals offered the Conservative official Opposition the first chance at presenting a motion of non-confidence in the House of Commons, despite the Liberals' loss Monday of a key south Montreal seat, the Star has learned.

The Conservatives have been informed by the Liberal House leader that they will get a day to set the parliamentary agenda next Tuesday with a vote the following day. At that time, Conservatives and Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has vowed to trigger an election at the earliest opportunity, could call for the defeat of the Trudeau government.

If they succeed in winning the support of the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, a non-confidence motion could pass, triggering the fall of the government. Defiant, Trudeau is willing to test the resolve of the NDP and the Bloc to go to a general election a prospect the Bloc has downplayed.

A senior government official, speaking confidentially to discuss internal deliberations, said the Liberals are confident neither the NDP nor the Bloc want to go to the polls. The insider said a decision to delay any opposition motions would signal weakness "that we just don't feel," so the Liberals plan to plow ahead with their parliamentary agenda.

The move caught the opposition parties off-guard.

"It's up to the Liberals," said a senior NDP source, who noted a pharmacare bill to offer free contraceptive and diabetes medicine is still not passed into law. "They get to schedule confidence votes, and if they schedule one next week, I'm going to take from there that they want to go into an election - that they would rather kill pharmacare and go to an election."

The Conservatives did not immediately offer comment, although Poilievre has repeatedly said he wants the government to fall so Canadians can vote in what he calls a "carbon tax election."