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3. Canada in the New Millennium
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Contents |
Martin Wins the Liberal Leadership
On September 21, 2003, Martin crushed his only reamaining opponent, Sheila Copps, by securing 93% of Liberal delegates from across Canada. At the leadership convention on November 14, 2003, Martin was crowned leader of the Liberal Party with 3,242 out of 3,455 votes.
On December 12, 2003, Martin and his cabinet were formally sworn in by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. During the ceremony, Martin held the flag that flew on Parliament Hill the day his father had died. Both he and his father had served as Liberal cabinet ministers. Both had contested the leadership, but the son had won where the father failed.
The United Opposition
- Both parties had to ratify the tentative deal for a new Conservative Party of Canada by Dec. 12
- The new leader to be elected March 19-21 under a system that gives each riding equal weight
- A general agreement of principles includes equality of French and English across Canada
- Policies must be approved by majority of delegates representing majority of provinces
- Members of both parties will need to buy new cards - they won't be automatically rolled in.
The new Conservative Party of Canada came into being at a convention that ended a 16-year rift within the conservative movement that began when Preston Manning founded the Reform Party. On December 5, caucus members of the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance Party of Canada voted 95% in favour of uniting their party with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to form the Conservative Party of Canada.
- Resource: Conservative Party of Canada Agreement
On January 12, 2004, Harper announced his resignation as Leader of the Opposition, to run for the leadership of the new party. On March 20, 2004, Stephen Harper became the first leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, with a first ballot victory against Belinda Stronach and Tony Clement.
Martin's Family Firm
Before and after Paul Martin came to power as 21st Prime Minister of Canada, he was dogged by accusations that his family owned company, CSL Group Inc., had improperly benefited from his political dealings.
When he became Canada's finance minister, Martin set up a blind trust to avoid a potential conflict of interest. The trustee took over management of his companies, and Martin could only get involved in the affairs of his companies in special circumstances, and then only if the federal ethics commissioner approved.
Throughout the 1990s, Martin's CSL shut down or shifted its Canadian operations offshore, registering many Canadian vessels under new "flags of convenience", in nations like Liberia where safety and labour laws were more relaxed.
Former PC leader Joe Clark charged that when Martin was finance minister he was in direct conflict of interest by not closing Canadian tax loopholes for firms like CSL that do business in the Caribbean tax haven of Barbados. Some of CSL's subsidiaries were registered in Barbados. They paid virtually no tax on their profits.
Reform and Alliance politicians also went after Martin for ignoring trust requirements by receiving updates on his companies while he was finance minister. And if he was sworn in as Prime Minister, they said, his business holdings would create a conflict of interest.
Once Martin was in power in January 2004, federal government auditors revealed that CSL had received $162 million in federal government contracts, grants and loans since Martin became Minister of Finance in 1993. In 2002, government House leader Don Boudria had told the opposition that the amount was only $137,000.
In defending the amount of business Ottawa gave to CSL, Martin pointed out that the company won $82 million in contracts in 1993, when Brian Mulroney's PCs were in power. He also asked Auditor General Sheila Fraser to investigate why the government reported the lower figure to Boudria. In her November 2004 report, Fraser found only that the final figure the government gave was "reasonably complete."
Advertising and Sponsorship
Martin and the Liberal Party soon faced an even more damaging crisis when the Auditor General's attention shifted away from CSL to sponsorship grants and advertising funds given by the Chrétien ministry to raise the profile of the federal government in Québec.
The sponsorship scandal - now dubbed AdScam - was to severely tarnish Martin's popularity and taint the reputation of the Liberal Party of Canada, especially in Quebec. Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe even accused Martin of planning to widen the St. Lawrence Seaway to benefit Canada Steamship Lines. The scandal also prompted speculation Martin was ridding the government of old Chrétien supporters to distance the Liberals from the scandal. Martin responded to the charges by calling a Royal Commission under justice John Gomery to investigate the matter.
The 2004 Election
With poll results worsening, and facing a united Conservative right and a rejuvenated Bloc Québécois and NDP, Paul Martin determined the best course of action was to go to the people. He called an election for June 28, 2004.
Martin campaigned hard, claiming the Sponsorship Scandal belonged to the previous Chrétien government. He told voters he wanted to get to the truth of the scandal with the Gomery Commission. But midway through the campaign, Liberal support slipped, and soon they were in a dead heat with the Conservatives. Gradually they lost their lead, prompting predictions of a Harper victory.
The Liberals issued a series of TV attack ads demonizing Stephen Harper and suggesting he had a "hidden agenda". Even former PC leader and PM Joe Clark got into the campaign. During an interview a week before the election, when pressed to choose between Martin and Harper, Clark chose Martin, saying "it's better to go with the devil you know". This plus some gaffes by Conservative candidates helped the Liberals regain their momentum, while Martin worked to draw back swing voters who had been leaning towards the NDP.
This final push let the Liberals hold on to several ridings by thin margin, and on June 28, Martin won a plurality in the election, with enough seats to form a minority government. It was Canada's first since Joe Clark's minority government in 1979-80.
Martin's Minority
The minority Martin government faced its first test on October 5, 2004, during the debate on the Speech from the Throne. Harper's Conservatives, backed by the Bloc Québécois and NDP, announced an amendment to the speech that would have brought down the government. Only a last minute agreement to water down the amendment averted Martin's fall.
For much of his mandate, Martin worked hard on trying to meet his campaign promises, particularly a health care "deal for a generation". At the First Ministers' Meeting of September 13-15, he worked out a ten year, $41 billion dollar plan with the provincial premiers to improve health care and reduce wait times.
Equalization and Oil & Gas
Martin also brought in changes to the equalization program, under which Ottawa transfered funds to the "have-not" provinces, those with less ability to raise revenues than the "have" provinces. Martin's reforms were not enough for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, who wanted to control their offshore oil and gas revenues. Both Martin and Harper had promised the provinces they would receive 100% of the revenue generated from their oil and gas without an equalization clawback.
After his election Martin backtracked, and after bitter negotiations with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, who at one point at one point ordered all Canadian flags taken down from provincial government buildings, Martin agreed to abide by his original campaign promise.
Same Sex Marriage
Regarding another campaign promise, to legalize same sex or gay marriage, Martin had originally opposed same-sex marriage in a 1999 vote in the Commons, but in 2004, citing 2003 and 2004 court rulings that made same-sex marriages lawful in seven provinces and one territory, he brought in a bill, the Civil Marriage Act, to legalize the practice across Canada. The bill was passed in a last-minute vote before Parliament closed down in June 2005. This made Canada the fourth country in the world to allow same-sex marriages.
In January 2006, Stephen Harper indicated that he intended to overturn this legislation, but his party was split on the matter, and he stepped down from the idea due to political pressure.
The Kelowna Accord
The entente later known as the Kelowna Accord was a a working paper called "Strengthening Relationships and Closing the Gap". It was a set of plans worked out after 18 months of discussion between Martin's government, the provinces and Canada's First Nations and aboriginal people, and signed at Kelowna, BC on November 25, 2005.
The aim of Kelowna was to close the gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians in the areas of health, education, housing and economic opportunity, through about $5 billion over 10 years in direct governmental spending and programs. Kelowna had no plans for the resolution of the backlog of specific claims
When the Conservatives came to power, they indicated in their first budget of May 2, 2006, that they were committed to meeting Kelowna targets, but wanted more focused initiatives and targeted expenditures, coupled with systemic reform.
In June 2006, former Prime Minister Paul Martin introduced a private member's bill calling on the government to follow through on the agreements made in the Kelowna Accord. On March 21, 2007 the bill was passed by the combined opposition, but under Section 54 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the government cannot be compelled to spend money by a private member's bill.
First Government of Nunatsiavut
"Over time, we're going to want to look at transition into the education system," said Gary Baikie, designated Nunasiavut's first finance minister. The Inuit also had the option of taking control of the justice system, he said.
The first cabinet would be made up of the Labrador Inuit Association's board of directors, but the government was committed to holding an election within a year.
Andersen had been a negotiator for more than 20 years and chief negotiator since 1989. He was to serve as clerk in the new government's assembly and the person responsible for implementing a land-claim settlement that received royal assent in June.
Anderson was formerly a fisherman. "I worked like a dog as a fisherman," he said on the LIA website, "but it was nothing compared to land claims."
The agreement has some unique features, including provisions for a commercial fishery and provisions for beneficiaries outside Nunatsiavut, the LIA said.
The people of Nunatsiavut live mainly in the Labrador Inuit communities of Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville and Rigolet, and in the Upper Lake Melville area, which includes Happy Valley-Goose Bay and North West River.
The Nunatsiavut terrtory covers 72,520 square kilometres. The Inuit own 15,800 square kilometres outright – about 2% of Labrador's land mass. The Labrador Inuit are not to be confused with Labrador's Innu people, once called Naskapi and Montagnais Indians
Surviving the 2005 Budget
A week later, on February 23, 2005, the 2005 Liberal budget was presented in the House of Commons. It included an array of new spending for the Canadian Forces, the environment and for a national child care program.
Harper's Conservatives immediately went on the attack, threatening to use their "opposition day," when they got to set the Parliament's agenda, to hold a vote of no confidence and bring down the Martin government. Martin tried to escape such a vote by removing all opposition days from the schedule. To buy time, he also went on television on the evening of April 21, 2005, and urged the Canadian people to tell their MPs to let the Gomery inquiry run its course before an election would be called.
On May 17, 2005, Martin scored a major coup when Conservative MP Belinda Stronach crossed the floor of the House of Commons to become Martin's Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. Stronach's defection changed the balance of power in the Commons in favour of the government, and with the support of independent MP Chuck Cadman, Martin survived a May 2005 confidence vote. The vote was a tie, but House Speaker Peter Milliken, following the tradition that the Speaker votes to continue debate, cast the deciding vote and allowed the budget to pass through the House on May 19, 2005.
Foreign Affairs
In the domain of foreign aid, Martin took some heat for failing to reach Lester Pearson's foreign-aid benchmark of 0.7 per cent of GDP. Irish rock star Bono of the group U2, who was a keynote speaker at the Liberal leadership convention in November 2003, claimed that he was going to "kick Martin's butt" over the issue.
In May 2004, at a press conference with Bono, Martin promised to contribute $70 million to the Bono-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a new program by the World Health Organization. He pledged to double Canada's contribution to the fund, which helps countries develop treatment plans and strategies. "Canada is being smart," said Bono.
US Relations
Paul Martin's relations with the US were never warm, but he did continue to cooperate with the Americans on border control, refugee claimants, and defence. He also appointed seasoned Liberal politician Frank McKenna as Canada's ambassador to Washington.
On November 18, 2004, he was forced to expel from caucus one of his members, Mississauga-Erindale MP Carolyn Parrish. Her crime: during an appearance oon CBC-TV's This Hour Has 22 Minutes, she was shown stomping on a George W. Bush action figure.
Martin criticized her "unacceptable" behaviour, and told reporters that while he defended her right to express her views frankly, he "cannot, as leader of our party and the government caucus, tolerate behaviour that demeans and disrespects others... There are better, more civil and more effective ways to make your case than those she has chosen."
A few months later, on February 24, 2005, Martin's Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew announced that Canada would not join the US Missile Defense Program, and that he expected to be consulted in the case of a missile being launched over Canadian air space. Polls suggested that Canadians did not wish to be involved with the program.
Martin also worked to build a closer relationship with the People's Republic of China by announcing a strategic partnership initiative during PRC President Hu Jintao's state visit to Canada in September, 2005.
Governor General Michaëlle Jean
On August 4, 2005, Paul Martin announced that Radio-Canada broadcaster Michaëlle Jean would be replacing Adrienne Clarkson as Governor General of Canada.
Jean would face some comments that her husband, a documentary film maker, had both dined with former members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), and appeared to have been supportive of Quebec separatism in the past, but criticism died down when she publicly affirmed that she was committed to federalism.
Michaëlle Jean took up her viceregal duties on September 27, 2005.
Gomery's Deliberations
Paul Martin's government was living on borrowed time. Public hearings of the Gomery Commission inquiry into the Sponsorship Scandal involving alleged kickbacks and "donations" from Quebec advertising agencies and corporations led to a continual slow slide in the Liberal Party's popularity.
On April 15, 2005, Jean Brault, former head of a Quebec advertising company, testified to the Gomery inquiry that he was repeatedly asked to give cash donations to the Liberal party, and put election workers on his payroll, in exchange for federal sponsorship contracts.
Brault said he was asked to meet Joe Morselli, a close friend of Quebec Liberal Party Lieutenant Alfonso Gagliano, in an Italian restaurant and leave envelopes with thousands of dollars in cash for the party on a chair.
"I went up to go to the bathroom," he said. "When I got back, the money was gone."
The opposition parties, who were considering triggering a June 27 election, reacted coolly to Martin's offer. "I have some difficulty with a prime minister under a cloud picking his own election date," Conservative leader Stephen Harper told reporters. He said the ruling party was now "tarnished beyond redemption."
The commission had heard startling allegations that Liberals in Quebec demanded big kickbacks in return for lucrative government contracts. And now the testimony was in the open. Gomery had originally issued a gag order that barred Canadian media from covering the hearings, but leaked information was widely circulated in an American weblog, and the proceedings were later opened.
Gomery Reports
The Report placed some blame for the scandal on former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien for lack of oversight, although it acknowledged he had no knowledge of the scandal.
The release of the Gomery Report caused a further drop in Liberal support, leading to speculation that the Martin ministry was finished, and there would be an election in early 2006.
After the Report's release, NDP leader Jack Layton notified the Liberals of conditions for the NDP's continued support, one of which included a ban on private health care. Martin turned down the offer. He also rejected a Conservative proposal to schedule an election for February 2006, in return for passing several pieces of legislation.
On November 24, 2005, Harper introduced a motion of no confidence, telling the House of Commons "that this government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons and needs to be removed." As Paul Martin had lost New Democratic Party support in the house by refusing to accept their plan to prevent health care privatization, the motion easily passed on November 28, 2005 by a count of 171-133.
As a result, Parliament was dissolved and Governor General Michaëlle Jean issued the writ for a Canadian federal election to be held on January 23, 2006.
Justice John Gomery released the final report of a federal commission investigating the federal sponsorship scandal on February 1, 2006.
The 2006 Election Campaign
When the writ for Canada's 39th general election was dropped, most polls put the Liberals ahead of the Conservatives by 2-10% in popular support, with 35% of decided voters, versus 30% for the Conservatives.
Paul Martin was hoping to fight the 56-day campaign on issues of health care, daycare, and tax cuts. He tried luring the US into a diplomatic row with accusations that the US was dragging its heels on getting a softwood lumber agreement, or refusing to support the Kyoto Accord. Stephen Harper and NDP leader Jack Layton accused Martin of electioneering, and noted that Canada was doing less than the US to clean up emissions.
The Sponsorship Scandal was proving to be too much of a dead weight on the Liberal Party brand, and it was clear most of the electorate wanted the Liberals in the penalty box for a time.
One of Harper's major planks was his proposal for a direct 2% cut in the GST. And with regard to day care, Harper promised direct child care grants of $1,200 a year for each child under the age of six. The parents themselves could decide how to spend the money — whether on day care, babysitters or play programs. Martin's policy, on the other hand, was for grants to regulated centres, and focused on early childhood development.
One early gaffe by the Liberals was from Martin strategist Scott Reid, who quipped that parents might buy "beer and popcorn" with the Conservative's child care subsidy, suggesting Canadians can't be trusted to spend money in a responsible way.
When the media pressed Martin for his opinion on the Conservative plan to slash the GST from 7% to 5%, Martin ended up defending the tax. This from a party that had won power in 1993 by promising to eliminate the hated GST!
The worst blow to the Liberals came at the end of December, when the RCMP began to investigate the leaking of news of a federal tax change for income trusts, which led to some individuals making profits on the news. The force let it be known that they were investigating the office of Finance Minister Ralph Goodale as one potential source of the leaks. When Serge Nadeau, a top Finance Department bureaucrat, was charged with criminal breach of trust, the case cast further suspicions on the Liberal party, and Martin dropped another 4% in the polls, to as low as 26% by mid-January 2006. This was widely seen as the turning point in the election.
Martin also went off message during the televised debates, at one point pledging to eliminate Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the "notwithstanding clause", which was not part of the published Liberal platform.
During the last week of the campaign, the Conservatives had opened up a ten point advantage in the polls. In a last ditch effort to stem the tide, Canadian Auto Workers union leader Buzz Hargrove, a traditional NDP stalwart, joined Martin on the platform, urging voters, including the NDP, to unite under the Liberal banner in English Canada and the Bloc Québecois in Quebec, to "park" their votes with the Liberals as the only way to stop the Conservatives.
A Harper Victory
On voting day, January 23, 2006, Canadian voters gave Stephen Harper's Conservatives 21 more seats than the Liberals, and a minority government. Gilles Duceppe's Bloc Québécois kept most of its seats, while the New Democratic Party improved their fourth-place position. After 13 years of Liberal rule, Canadians elected a government that was promising ethical government, a crackdown on crime and lower taxes.
Overall, the Conservatives won a plurality of support and seats, finishing 31 seats short of a majority. The Liberals held their base of support in Ontario, with 54 seats of the 103 in the province. In Quebec, the Liberals won only 13 of the 75 seats, down from 21 in 2004, while the Conservatives unexpectedly picked up 10 seats in the province. Liberal support was static in the Western provinces, where the party won only 14 of the 92 seats, the same number as in 2004.
Paul Martin Resigns
Shortly after midnight on January 24, 2006, Paul Martin realized the Conservatives were on their way to a plurality, and conceded defeat. He then surprised his audience by announcing he would step down as Liberal Party party leader, saying "I will continue to represent with pride the people of LaSalle—Émard, but I will not take our party into another election as leader."
Governor General Michaëlle Jean formally asked Harper to form a government later that day. Martin remained as Prime Minister until the Harper minority government was sworn in February 6, 2006. He stayed on as party leader until March 18, 2006, handing the reins to interim Liberal leader Bill Graham.
The national executive of the Liberal Party set the date for the leadership convention to select Martin's successor for the weekend of December 2-3, 2006.
Stephen Harper Government
- "The overhanging reality is that everything the Conservatives propose will be mediated by the other parties. We're not going to have another election for at least two or probably three years. The parties have resigned themselves to the fact that they are going to have to live together." - Nelson Wiseman, University of Toronto
Quebec as a Nation
Harper had to tread warily in a minority situation, but he still had certain goals he wanted to move forward. One of his first policy initiatives was to open up the topic of Senate reform, to turn the Canadian Senate into an elected rather than an appointed body, a policy previously proposed by the old Reform Party. On September 7, 2006, he became the first Canadian Prime Minister to appear before a Senate committee and was present to make his government's case for Senate reform.
Harper also proposed and passed a motion to have fixed election dates, with earlier elections possible in the case of minority governments.
Harper was also forced to address the Québec sovereignty issue when the opposition Bloc Québécois introduced a motion in the House that called for recognition of Quebec as a "nation." On November 22, 2006, Harper countered by bringing in his own motion to recognize Québec as a "nation within a united Canada." Harper's motion passed, with a margin of 266-16; all federalist parties, as well as the Bloc Quebecois, were formally behind it.
Media Relations
Sidelight: Cindy Klassen Wins Five Golds
With her bronze-medal performance in 5,000-metre long-track speed skating, on Feb. 25, 2006, Winnipeg's Cindy Klassen became the first Canadian to win five medals at a single Winter Games. Klassen came third after Clara Hughes, who took the gold.
Klassen also won gold in the 1500-metres on Feb. 23, beating German rival and defending champion Anni Friesinger in the next to last pairing, pulling ahead with 400 metres left and crossing the finish line in one minute, 55.27 seconds.
Klassen won a bronze medal in the 3,000 at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. At Turin, she won a record five medals – gold in the 1,500, silvers in the 1,000 and team pursuit, and bronze in the 3,000 and 5,000.
Klassen was now Canada's most-decorated Olympian with six career medals. Short-track speed skater Marc Gagnon, long track skater Clara Hughes and runner Philip Edwards came second with five career Olympic medals each.
Foreign Affairs
On March 11, 2006, Harper made a surprise trip to Afghanistan, to visit Canadian Forces personnel deployed there since late 2001 as part of the NATO multilateral force.
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As Harper told reporters, "We all want to encourage not just a ceasefire, but a resolution. And a resolution will only be achieved when everyone gets to the table and everyone admits...recognition of each other," referring to the refusal of Hezbollah and Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist.
Harper also worked to mend fences with the US, but also sent a signal to the Americans by rebuking U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins for criticizing the Conservatives' plans to assert Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean waters with armed forces.
Canada in Afghanistan
Two decades ago, Afghanistan was largely unknown to the overwhelming majority of Canadians. It was one of those distant, remote, and anonymous 'stan' countries about which ignorance far surpassed knowledge. That has all changed once Canada began its mission in Afghanistan in January 2002. Over the last eight years, thousands of Canadian men and women have served in Afghanistan, hundreds have been injured, and 150 have paid the supreme sacrifice.
In the wake of the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, Canadian Minister of National Defense Art Eggleton recommended that more than one hundred Canadian Force members serving on military exchange programs in the Untesd States and elsewhere be despatched to Afghanistan to assist the American military deployed there. The publicized objectives of the Canadian involvement were to:
- neutralize al-Qaeda members operating within Afghanistan
- eliminate the Taliban, which was believed to be a major supporter of international terrorism
- assist Afghanistan in its rebuiling efforts
- defend Canadian national interests and ensure Canadian leadership in global affairs
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced on October 7, 2001 that Canada would contribute forces to the international effort to combat terrorism. Although not part of the initial international contingent, the first Canadian ground forces arrived in Afghanistan in January-February, 2002. They became part of Operation Anaconda which was the first time since the Korean War that Canadian troops had relieved their American counterparts. On April 18, 2002, four Canadians were killed and eight injured from 'friendly fire' in the so-called Tarnak Farm incident.
In August 2003, the Canadian Forces centred their attention on the major city of Kabul where Canada became the commanding nation of the International Security Assistance Force. Nicknamed Operation Athena, the Canadian contingent provided significant infrastructure assistance to local Afghans. A little over half a year later, in March 2004, Defense Minister Bill Graham promised $250 million of aid to Afghanistan as well as an additional $5 million for the 2004 Afghan 2004 election. In mid-February 2005, Graham announced that Canada was doubling its troop commitment from 600 to 1200. On July 28, the first Canadian Forces troops are deployed to the Kandahar region.
December 30, 2009, proved to be the bloodiest day of the year for Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, as 4 soldiers and one Journalist are killed by an IED while on a Community Security Patrol. The journalist was 34 year old Michelle Lang, a native of Vancouver, BC, who had been in Afghanistan just two weeks on a rotational assignment for the Calgary Herald. In 2008, Lang won a national journalism award for best beat reporter.
As of this writing, 150 Canadians, the vast majority in their twenties, have been killed. Hundreds more have been maimed and injured. All have been profoundly effected by a mission that many in Canada have come to seriously question. Again, as of the time of this writing, the Stephen Harper government has committed to an ending of the Afghan mission in 2011. Unlike other Canadian foreign missions, Afghanistan has been deeply divisive. Bumper stickers, Donald Cherry, and others strongly defend the mission as exemplifying the very best in the Canadian tradition of humanistic peace-keeping. Many others, at the same time, have come to espouse compelling arguments why this mission runs counter to that tradition and has brought costs, human and financial, far in excess of any identifiable advantages.
The 2008 Election
On December 2, 2006, delegates to the Liberal Party of Canada convention in Montreal selected Stéphane Dion as their new leader, over MIchael Ignatieff and Bob Rae.
In the 40th Canadian general election, held on October 14, 2008, Dion lost badly to Stephen Harper's Conservative Party of Canada. Dion announced his resignation two weeks later, to take effect on the selection of his successor at a convention in May, 2009.
On December 1, the Liberal Party and New Democratic Party tabled an official 'coalition agreement', agreeing to form a coalition government with the backing of the Bloc Québécois if they succeeded in ousting the Conservative minority government in a vote of non-confidence. The coalition drafted a letter to Governor-General Michaëlle Jean requesting the institution of a coalition government, and the ousting of the Conservative minority. The letter was sent to the GG on December 4. On that day, Stephen Harper asked the Governor General to prorogue the 40th Canadian Parliament; she agreed, preventing the Liberal-NDP coalition from ousting the Conservative minority government as planned.
On December 10, the Liberal Party selected Michael Ignatieff as interim leader, later ratified at the May 2009 convention.
The combined opposition finally decided to oust the Harper minority government in a vote of non-confidence on March 25, 2011, and a federal election was called for May 2.
RESOURCE: Letter from the Liberal/NDP Coalition to the Governor General, December 4, 2008
| 3. Canada in the New Millennium - Gallery | Stories & Texts | Web Links | Milestones | Student Activities | Student Projects |
| D. Global Challenges - 1984-Present →→ 1. The Mulroney Mandate 1984-93 → 2. The Chrétien Years 1993-2003 → 3. Canada in the New Millennium →→ E. Aboriginal People and First Nations Today |
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