Just when you thought people went into politics because of deeply-held beliefs about economics, social policies, etc. . . . poof! That illusion comes crashing down as two—not one but two—Conservative MPs leave the ranks and put Mark Carney’s Liberals within spitting distance of a majority. The timing couldn’t be worse for Canada. Mark Carney has just tabled his first budget, promising to spend $78.3 billion dollars more than revenues taken in over the fiscal year! As many right-of centre commentators have noted, that’s $36.1 billion more than the Trudeau Liberals predicted a year ago. Just a few days ago, rumours were circulating that the Liberal budget might not pass a vote in the House; since budget bills are considered confidence bills, its failure would result in the collapse of the government and lead to a general election.

On Tuesday, Nov. 4, the day the budget was tabled, a former Conservative MP from Nova Scotia, Chris d’Entremont crossed the floor and raised the number of Liberal MPs to 170. They need 172 to form a clear, but slim, majority. Apparently, they have been approaching various Conservative MPs, looking for those who might be willing to shift their allegiance from blue to red. On Thursday, Nov. 6, another Conservative MP, Matt Jeneroux from Edmonton, announced that he will resign as MP, perhaps in the Spring. His departure will not add to Liberal seats, but is a clear sign of division in the Conservative caucus.

While Conservative operatives inside and outside of caucus are working the phones to try to detect and prevent any further defections, tensions are high right now, as are the stakes. The future of the government and of Canada’s pathway hangs in the balance.

The question we should be asking is how important are an MP’s principles and convictions if he or she is willing to change parties or resign from caucus less than 7 months after campaigning? I conclude they are not really convictions; at most they may be preferences.

Neither of the two MPs leaving the Conservative caucus are committed pro-lifers. MP Chris d’Entremont did vote with MP Cathay Wagantall to end sex-selective abortion, but otherwise, has not stood for much. He won’t be doing that again as Liberal. But he knew that when he crossed the floor.

The Budget

Will these party games have anything to do with the fate of the budget? Only time will tell. If the Liberals manage to badger, coax, threaten or entice two more MPs from any of the opposition parties to support their budget, it will pass. Not a single Liberal MP will vote against it. We’ve seen this unthinking, non-questioning party loyalty on display since 2015. We see the same lockstep commitment in the US Senate where Democrats (the US version of Canadian Liberals) seem to be willing to compromise any principles they may once have had in order to show unity over any issue deemed to be partisan. Open borders? Taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegals? Bailing out leftist thugs and prosecuting conservative-minded patriots? Shut down government and withhold paycheques from soldiers and other government employees to embarrass the President? No matter how foolish or wicked the scheme, the left is united. The right? Not so much.

I won’t try to break down the budget details here. The biggest standout problem with the budget is the massive deficit. This is the highest spending budget in Canadian history outside of the pandemic years when politicians threw caution to the wind and spent recklessly without qualms or apology. It turns out that much of what they spent the money on was a total waste, if not absolutely harmful, to Canadians’ health, welfare and our economy. Not to mention the damage to our freedoms and our justice and healthcare systems.

During the pandemic, folks were bamboozled by government spokespeople and a complicit media into thinking that the government had their best interests at heart and no expense should be spared to prop up the institutions and protocols rolled out by the masked and isolated “experts.” So they justified the huge deficits as necessary to save the country.

But the wild spending proposals of the Carney budget cannot be justified by any pandemic. We’re not engaged in a costly war across the sea. We are simply spending money we don’t have on things we don’t need and we, our children and their children will be paying interest on the new debt as well as the old . . . for a very long time. That interest payment already is over a billion dollars a week and rising.

On the bright side, the plans to remove charitable status from churches and pro-life organizations (Recommendations 429 and 430 from the Finance Committee) were not included in this budget. We must count that as a victory, but remember, this government has not completed its agenda. Many evil things are brought forward, floated, taken off the table and then return with a vengeance at a later time. We’ve seen that with gay marriage and doctor-assisted suicide. We’re grateful for the reprieve, but we must remain vigilant.

For a political party that stands on principle and would make deficit spending illegal, join the Christian Heritage Party!