OTTAWA – The Liberal minority government’s first real test comes today as MPs are scheduled to vote on the government’s throne speech.
The Liberals lost a vote Monday evening when opposition members successfully amended the speech to call on the government to table an economic update before Parliament breaks for the summer.
Government whip Mark Gerretsen insisted nothing went wrong with that vote despite the Liberals losing it by a count of 166 to 164.
However, the vote on the throne speech itself is a confidence vote, which means that if the government loses it, it could be forced into a general election.
The speech focuses heavily on building up the Canadian economy by fast-tracking projects it considers to be in the national interest, and moving faster to build new homes.
Opposition party leaders say the speech is vague, relies too much on slogans and doesn’t explain how the government plans to scale back its spending.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025.
