by Tod Maffin
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Canada’s government had a major change this week.
The Liberals, who have held power for more than a decade, returned to Majority territory. (That means when you add up all the seats the Liberals hold, and add up the seats all the other parties hold, the Liberals have more.) Now, they can pass pretty much whatever they want, without the cooperation of any other party.
T O D B I T
The Liberals needed five floor crossings and three byelection wins to clear the 172-seat majority threshold in a 343-seat House. One of those wins was in Terrebonne, Quebec, a riding they'd previously won by exactly one vote.
Depending on where you sit, that’s great or terrible.
The Liberals have governed with a minority since 2019, when then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won the election but lost the balance of power. Added up together, all the OTHER parties had a bigger potential vote.
In Canada, minority governments have to get at least some of those others on side. When an agreement between two parties is formed, we call these Supply and Confidence agreements, because we’re bad at naming things.
Trudeau, who governed from the centre-left, cut a deal with the further left-leaning NDP party. That gave Trudeau the votes he wanted on confidence motions, like budgets, but also gave the NDP what it demanded: a national dental program and more affordable daycare.
Since the year 2000, two-thirds of federal elections have produced minority governments. In other countries, that produces stalemates and shutdowns. But for Canada, it’s often the opposite.
Some of the most consequential legislation this country has ever seen was horse-traded into existence at two in the morning between people who didn't particularly like each other.
The Lester Pearson minority governments of the 1960s were among the most productive in Canadian history, delivering universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, a national Student Loans program — even a new national flag. He did all of that without a majority. Ever.
And did you know that a minority government crisis accidentally fast-tracked Canadian independence?
In 1925, Mackenzie King's Liberals won fewer seats than the Conservatives, but King refused to hand over power and instead formed a minority government with Progressive Party support. When a scandal threatened to bring him down, he asked Governor General Lord Byng to dissolve Parliament. Byng said no. King resigned. The Conservatives took over, lasted only five days past four confidence votes, lost a fifth, and Byng then granted them the dissolution he had refused King.
King ran an entire election campaign on the constitutional nerve of a British-appointed Governor General interfering with Canadian self-governance, and won. The whole mess eventually contributed to the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which gave Canada meaningful legal autonomy from Britain.
Tonight, Canadians handed one party the keys, the steering wheel, and the gas pedal.
We'll find out soon enough how well they can drive.
Trivia
Which province came closest to adopting electoral reform in its 2005 referendum, narrowly missing the required threshold?
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We’re doing the Tod’s Nanaimo Infusion event again this year [▶️ watch video] — April 24-26. It’s an invitation for anyone (you do not have to be American or work in healthcare) to come to Vancouver Island and take in the beauty, quirkiness, and friendly people of our area. [get more info]
The Weekly Poll
Do you think a majority or minority government is better for Canada?
Last Week:
The Funny Bone
by Greg Kearney; used under licence.
What You Missed This Week
The Good News ♥️
The University of Calgary set a new world record for the most people dressed as dinosaurs.
An Ottawa woman was given a lifetime membership from the CrossFit gym she attends in celebration of her 90th birthday.
Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC, and the University of British Columbia were listed as two of the most beautiful university campuses in the world.
20 civic leaders in Ontario received the Queen Elizabeth II Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship.
A shelter in Victoria, BC, has acquired 13 more beds to accommodate people overcoming addiction.
SCIENCE!!!!!! 🔭
The first-ever STEM Racing 2026 Canadian National Championships were held in North Bay, ON.
Prince Edward Island has hired 10 newly graduated nurse practitioners to offset the 33,870-person waitlist for a family doctor.
A pediatrician in Montreal has made it his mission to connect every child in Quebec with a family doctor.
Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen is reflecting on his space mission.
The First Peoples 🪶
Indigenomics Institute has launched the National Indian Act Economics Campaign to move Canada beyond symbolic reconciliation and into measurable economic change.
Stop-motion animations made by Inuit filmmakers in the 1970s were publicly shown for the first time at this year's Aulajut Nunavut International Film Festival.
Jason Baerg, a Cree-Metis artist, recently collaborated with designer Christopher Solar on a piece of furniture for one of Canada’s official diplomatic residences in Mexico.
Canada’s National Orchestra and Mi’kmaq singer-songwriter Emma Stevens will honour Indigenous music on an upcoming tour of Nova Scotia.
Wild Things 🐻❄️
The RCMP were called to a grocery store in Hanna, AB, to escort a rogue beaver off the premises.
Two orcas were seen swimming under the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver, BC.
Alberta is testing thermal drones and AI to track wild boar.
Wolverine sightings in Labrador inspire hope that the endangered species may be making a comeback.
Canadian Content 🍁
Tenille Townes, a multi-award-winning country singer from Grande Prairie, AB released her fourth studio album, The Acrobat.
Mile End Kicks, a Montreal-based rom-com, is now in theatres across Canada.
Lesley Choyce, a Nova Scotia-based author with over 86 books under his belt, has released his latest No More Fridays.
Arkells have released their latest album, Between Us, which features the very catchy single Next Summer.
Canadian Comedy royalty Dan Levy teamed up with Rachel Sennott for his new comedy crime show Big Mistakes, currently streaming on Netflix.
Across Canada 📍
Comedic actor Zach Galifianakis was seen filming a new Netflix docuseries in Vancouver Island, BC.
Terry Fox’s “Van of Hope” is on display at Steele Wheels Motor Museum in Halifax.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the federal fuel excise tax will be suspended from Monday, April 20, to Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.
Calgary's National Music Centre will be displaying a guitar, clothing, and other items once owned by Canadian music legend Gordon Lightfoot.
Three Canadian NHL teams have made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The new Premier of Quebec, Christine Fréchette, has met with Prime Minister Mark Carney, 48 hours after being sworn in.
Canada’s Market This Week
Royal Bank | |
TD Bank | |
Enbridge | |
ScotiaBank | |
Bank of Montreal | |
CP Rail | |
Shopify | |
Canadian Tire | |
Loblaws | |
Tim Hortons (RBI) | |
Dollarama | |
Rogers |