Bloc MPs will vote confidence in Liberal government next week: Blanchet

The Conservatives’ first shot at toppling the Liberal government is doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday his party is putting forward a non-confidence motion next week and the wording is very straight forward.  

“The House has no confidence in the Prime Minister and the Government,” the motion will state, a spokesperson for Poilievre has confirmed to CTV News.

Poilievre says he’s doing this to force a “carbon tax election.”

It will be the party’s first chance to topple Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government since the Liberals’ supply-and-confidence deal with the NDP ended earlier this month.

The first Conservative opposition day of the fall sitting has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, with a vote then coming next Wednesday.

But Blanchet threw cold water on the issue, telling reporters, “The answer is no,” his party will not vote with the Conservatives.

“We have already had this conversation many times,” Blanchet said in French. “The motion contains absolutely nothing. It essentially says ‘would you like to replace Justin Trudeau with Pierre Poilievre,’ so the answer is no.”

The Bloc leader added his party serves Quebecers, not Conservatives, and the two groups are not one and the same.

When asked whether his comments mean he has confidence in the prime minister and his government, Blanchet smiled and said “no.”

But, he explained, it does mean he has “reasonable confidence” he can push the Liberals for progress on Bloc legislative priorities.

Poilievre also put the NDP on notice to support the motion.

“I also call on the NDP. Don’t wait for the Bloc to bail you out. You announce your position on this motion to trigger a carbon tax election,” Poilievre said. “Now you have the motion. It’s in your inbox.”

In order for the motion to pass, the majority of the current 336 MPs would need to vote to say they no longer have confidence in Trudeau.

Right now, the Liberals hold 154 seats, and the Conservatives have 119. After Monday’s byelections, there are now 33 Bloc MPs and 25 New Democrats. The Green party holds two seats and there are also three Independents.

The total Liberal and Bloc votes would therefore be enough to quash the motion.

Liberal MPs were asked about the non-confidence motion on their way to a caucus meeting on Wednesday. Several of them said they are not concerned about the vote.

“We’re ready for a confidence vote,” Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said. “I think it’s important that we actually get the first one out of the way.”

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said “the last thing Canadians want is instability.”

“I’m confident that (the NDP) understand the mood of Canadians, and the mood of Canadians is not to get into an election,” Champagne said.

“This is not a game,” said Government House Leader Karina Gould when asked about her confidence in getting support from the NDP and Bloc Quebecois.

Gould also directly spoke to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s decision to pull out of his party’s deal with the Liberals.

“If he cares about climate change, if he cares about pharmacare, if he cares about dental care, if he cares about a progressive agenda for Canadians, he’s going to have to demonstrate that to Canadians,” Gould said.

With files from CTV News’ Rachel Aiello and Spencer Van Dyk