Poilievre says he will force confidence vote on Trudeau’s government as soon as possible

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a direct challenge on Wednesday to other opposition leaders to bring down the Liberal government at the first possible opportunity.

Poilievre held a press conference outside of the House of Commons announcing that he would introduce a vote of non-confidence as soon as possible when Parliament resumes.

“I’m announcing the common-sense Conservatives will put forward a non-confidence motion at the earliest possible opportunity,” he said.

Poilievre will need the support of both the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support his motion in order for the government to fall.

The House of Commons has regular opposition days when the opposition parties set the House of Commons agenda but the government decides when those days are set in the parliamentary calendar. Poilievre said, as soon as they can, Conservatives will push the House of Commons to trigger an election.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced last week his party was ending the confidence and supply agreement his party has had with the Liberals for the last two-and-a-half years. Poilievre said unless Singh actually votes to bring the government down, the agreement is still in place.

“If you’re pulling out, you have to vote non-confidence. If you don’t, you’re still in the agreement, no matter what your video stunt would have everyone else believe,” he said. “Will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?”

More to come …

National Post [email protected]

Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.