Canada's Liberals and New Democrats Forge Coalition Government

Canada's Liberals and New Democrats Forge Coalition Government

James Joyner | December 02, 2008

Despite Stephen Harper's Conservatives picking up seats and falling just short of a majority in October's elections, it appears a leftist coalition is set to supplant them in power if Harper loses a confidence vote.

The Liberals and New Democrats signed an agreement on Monday to form an unprecedented coalition government, with a written pledge of support from the Bloc Québécois, if they are successful in ousting the minority Conservative government in a coming confidence vote.

The accord between parties led by Stéphane Dion, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe came just hours after Liberal caucus members agreed unanimously that Dion would stay on to lead the Liberal-NDP coalition, with support in the House of Commons from Bloc MPs. The six-point accord includes a description of the role of the Liberal and NDP caucuses, which would meet separately and sit next to each other on the government benches in the House of Commons, Dion told a news conference alongside Layton and Duceppe.

Dion said he has advised Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean in a letter that he has the confidence of the Commons to form the government should Stephen Harper's Conservatives be defeated in a confidence vote. The Liberal leader said the parties reached the accord after watching the "sad spectacle" of other countries' governments acting to counter the "unprecedented" global economic crisis while Harper's Conservatives "sat and did nothing."

While this looks odd to Americans and Brits used to a first-past-the-post system, it's not at all unusual in a proportional representation system. While a strong plurality has preferred the Conservatives in the past two elections, they fell short of a majority, requiring them to form a coalition government. If they can't maintain that alliance, other minority parties have the opportunity to form a majority of their own. Given the divergence in governing philosophies of the three parties involved, though, it'll be a neat trick to maintain this coalition for very long.