Okay, I understand that all this election stuff is confusing. It confuses me to. So, today I will clear up what it means to have a “minority government” verses a “majority government.”Majority government:
This is when a party wins at least 155 of the 308 seats in the House. In each seat, an MP that you elected from your area will sit, voting on legislation, arguing, farting, etc.
The party in power can do just about anything that they want in this case. If they put a new law or issue up to vote, it is very likely that it will pass because that party has the most members to vote for it.
Minority government:
When the governing party wins fewer than 155 seats. Things are harder to pass in this case. The government has fewer seats, and is outnumbered by the total seats of the combined other parties. This means that the other three parties can defeat any motion by just voting against the governing party. This is what we just had in government with the Liberals for the last two years or so. What happened: Liberals teamed up with the NDP on some issues and outvoted the Conservative + Bloc alliance. This is how the equal marriage law passed. Many of the Liberals voted for it, along with all the NDP’s, Bloc, and independents (MP’s that are elected to parliament without being part of any particular party. Or, they have been kicked out of the party they were elected under). Also, minority governments can be brought down if the other parties give a “non confidence” vote. This is what happened to the Liberals, and why we’re in an election right now.
So, lets all hope that if the Conservatives win, it’s only with a minority government. That way, the other parties will be able to keep them in check. Also, they can be booted out before 4 years is up.
