The federal Liberal government faces a crucial confidence vote today that could trigger a snap election.
It could be up to the New Democratic Party to decide how today’s vote turns out; the Bloc Québécois already has confirmed it will support the Conservative motion.
If NDP members abstain from the vote, that could leave the outcome in the hands of a small number of Green and Independent MPs.
The high-stakes vote is expected to happen around 3:15 p.m. ET.
The opposition motion would create a special committee to probe the Trudeau government’s ethics and spending in response to the pandemic — including the controversial WE Charity contract to administer a student volunteer grant program.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not recuse himself from talks on the agreement, even though several of his family members had been paid for speaking engagements by the organization.
The Liberal government has declared the vote on the Conservative motion a matter of confidence – a high-stakes move that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has called a “farce.”
Heading into their weekly caucus meeting this morning, NDP MPs said they had not yet decided on a path forward and would talk about how to proceed behind closed doors.