Throne speech adopted without a confidence vote in the House of Commons

Despite early-morning posturing from the NDP, the government’s official reply to the throne speech was adopted in the House of Commons on Wednesday without a vote.

Despite early-morning posturing from the NDP, the government’s official reply to the throne speech was adopted in the House of Commons on Wednesday without a vote.

The motion was instead adopted by “unanimous consent,” or “on division,” meaning no recorded vote was held. The adoption does not require a vote in the Senate.

When a motion is adopted “on division,” it means the motion is passed without a formal recorded vote, with an acknowledgement from the Speaker that not all members agree.

Some members may dissent, but the dissent is not formally recorded as individual votes. This typically occurs when the outcome of the motion is clear and a formal vote is deemed unnecessary to save time.

The adoption came only hours after NDP Interim Leader Don Davies had promised to vote against the throne speech in the House of Commons, possibly triggering a snap election.

Davies—who took over as the interim leader of the NDP after former leader Jagmeet Singh failed to be re-elected—and NDP House Leader Alexandre Boulerice, announced a media scrum ahead of Question Period on Wednesday.

As the throne speech is a confidence motion, Davies’ announcement meant the Liberals would otherwise require the support of either the Bloc or the Conservatives to avoid returning to another federal election.

“Millions of Canadians don’t have access to an affordable home,” Davies said to reporters. “They don’t have access to timely healthcare; and they don’t have access to the good family-sustaining jobs they need.”

“And yet the throne speech doesn’t even mention the words ‘healthcare,’” Davies further lamented.

In voicing his concerns over the throne speech, Davies was additionally critical of the absence of “employment insurance,” “non-market housing” and specific needs for Indigenous Canadians.

As such, NDP MPs “will be voting against (it),” Davies confirmed.

When pressed by reporters on whether this decision reflected that his party has “already lost confidence” in the Carney government, Davies evaded answering directly, only vaguely offering that, “this throne speech is not a worker-centred throne speech.”