Harper government falls, setting up May election
Posted Mar 25, 2011 6:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Harper Government was defeated in a historic non-confidence motion in the House of Commons Friday. Cheers filled the House and Opposition MPs threw papers in the air when the vote results had been read aloud, with 156 yeas and 145 nays. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he’s disappointed. “Unfortunately Mr. Ignatieff and his coalition partners in the NDP and Bloc Quebecois made abundently clear that they had already decided that they wanted to force an election,” he said in a statement Friday. Harper said Canadians had made it clear they weren’t looking for an election. “Thus the vote today, which obviously disappoints me will, I suspect, disappoint Canadians,” he said. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff blasted the Tories by putting forward the non-confidence motion and then tried to appeal to Bloc and NDP voters. Following the vote he said, “there are two alternatives here; more of this disrespect of democracy, more of this contempt for the Canadian people or a compassionate, responsible Liberal government.” He said, “if you vote for the NDP, if you vote for the Greens, if you vote for the Bloc, you’ll get more of this, and Canadians are saying ‘enough.'” Harper will be going to Rideau Hall to meet with Governor General David Johnston to ask him to dissolve parliament Saturday morning. They will also determine the date of the coming election.
