Debate on the Address in Reply to the Speech From the Throne was due to wrap up, meaning a final vote. Media outlets insisted that this would be the first major confidence vote of the new Parliament, and that if the Liberals lost it, we could go back to an election, and there was all this building drama because of how they lost the vote on the Conservatives’ amendment (to “urge” the government to table a spring budget). And my headache started.

The vote on the Address in Reply is not automatically a confidence vote. It is if the opposition amendments explicitly state that they have no confidence in the government, and sometimes that happens because this is the first opportunity to test the confidence of the Chamber, especially in a minority parliament or legislature, but again, that was not the case here. But along the way, the NDP decided that they were going to play tough and declare that they would vote against it for specious reasons (and because Don Davies is an idiot, and has a long track record of being an idiot and a blowhard), while the Government House Leader, Steve MacKinnon, told reporters that this would be a confidence vote. So, if the government says it’s a confidence vote, it’s a confidence vote, and it was likely intended to be something of a bit a put-up-or-shut-up dare, which can be risky in a minority parliament, but sometimes you also need to play hardball with the opposition. This was likely going to mean that the Bloc would either vote in support or abstain (because they did say they would give the government a year before they started to seriously oppose anything, given the Trump situation), but the government was never in any serious danger of falling. If, by some fluke, they did lose a vote they declared to be confidence, they could simply hold another vote and basically say “Did you mean it?” and chances are they would win that vote, and all would go back to normal.

And in the end, there wasn’t even a vote. News of Marc Garneau’s death reached the Chamber just before the vote was to be taken, and it seems like the appetite for drama was gone, and it passed on division, meaning that they agreed to disagree, that they were going to let it pass, but not bother with a recorded vote. And thus, the least exciting outcome happened.

I must advise the beings of Bluesky that, in a truly only-in-this-particular-Canadian-parliament twist, the much-anticipated will-they-or-won't-they-trigger-an-election over it motion on the Throne speech as amended — has been adopted on division.

— Kady O'Malley (@kadyo.bsky.social) 2025-06-04T22:25:39.121Z

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2025-06-04T22:02:26.904Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Russian drones struck an apartment building in Kharkiv, injuring at least seventeen. Russian forces have also pushed further into Sumy region. Here’s a look at how Operation Spiderweb was carried out.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney says he wants to wait a little before any retaliatory measures to the new steel and aluminium tariffs, but measures are being prepared.
• Here is a look at the kinds of projects the premiers are pitching to Carney.
• Patty Hajdu wants Canada Post and their union to work things out, and doesn’t sound eager to force a vote of the membership on the “final offer.”
• Sean Fraser apologised for his comments that First Nations don’t have a blanket veto on development under the duty to consult, saying he eroded trust.
• Lina Diab is defending the provisions in the border bill that put more limits on asylum seekers.
• The federal government issued stronger condemnation of restrictions on food aid in Gaza, and joined European allies in condemning settler violence in the West Bank.
• The Competition Bureau has issued new guidance calling on retailers to drop property controls that limit competition.
• Germany and Norway want Canada to join their submarine programme.
• Senator David Richards joined the Conservative caucus…for the handful of sitting weeks that remain before his mandatory retirement.
• More write-ups on Garneau’s passing from Canadian Press, CBC, and the Star, plus a photo gallery here.
• Danielle Smith says she’s invited Carney to an Oilers playoff game (but I would have questions of the provenance of those tickets).
• Kevin Carmichael parses the interest rate decision.
• Michael Geist lays out the privacy concerns of the “lawful access” provisions buried in the omnibus border bill.
• Jennifer Robson is looking for more attention to be paid to tax administration (and for the government to actually get back to promised projects like e-payroll).
• Matt Gurney muses about the changing nature of warfare, as demonstrated by Ukraine and Azerbaijan, and how unprepared we are for it.
• Shannon Proudfoot talks to Carney about his beloved Oilers being in the playoffs.

Odds and ends:

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