Is Coalition Cheating or a Coup d’état?
Not at all. Coalition governments are a legal alternative to a single party minority government. The Canadian electorate elects a Parliament (specifically the House of Commons). It does not elect a government or a Prime Minister. A party has the mandate to govern only if it receives a majority of seats in the House of Commons. When no party has a majority, typically the party with the most seats governs, but it must work with opposition parties to maintain their confidence. If the minority government fails to do so, opposition parties may submit to the Governor General a proposal to form a coalition government.
Aren’t Coalitions Risky?
Cabinets based on a coalition with a majority in a parliament are typically more stable and long-lived than minority cabinets. While the former are prone to internal struggles, they have less reason to fear votes of non-confidence. The risk ensues if the coalition parties do not work well together.
Shouldn’t Parties Tell Voters Prior to an Election that they will Form a Coalition?
Not necessarily. Parties will not know how many seats they will win and the shape Parliament will take until after an election. In countries where coalition governments are prevelant, parties typically form coalitions after the election.
If the parties proposing the coalition can offer a more stable government than the party with the most seats, the Governor General may assign the governing role to the coalition.
Are Coalition Government’s Common?
Coalition governments are common in many countries with parliamentary systems. Countries that currently have coalitions are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel, New Zealand, Kosovo, Pakistan, Kenya, India, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Ukraine and most recently, the United Kingdom.
But How About in Canada?
There were several coalitions pre-Confederation. The only coalition to form at the federal level post Confederation was the Union Government of 1917-1920. This came about when MPs of several parties, including the Liberal, joined Prime Minister Borden to support conscription during WWI. There were also a number of provincial coalition governments during the 20th century in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as the Yukon.
In September 2004, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe wrote to the Governor General asking that she consider all of her options if they were to defeat the minority Liberal government in a vote of non-confidence. They pointed out their parties ”together constitute a majority in the House” and that they had ”been in close consultation.” In other words – don’t rule out a Conservative-NDP-Bloc coalition. On March 25, 2011 when the Conservative government fell due to a vote of non-confidence, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe told “reporters that Mr. Harper asked him and NDP Leader Jack Layton to meet in 2004 to talk about forming a coalition to replace then Liberal prime minister Paul Martin” (Globe & Mail: Harper government falls in historic commons showdown).
In 2008 Prime Minister Harper went against his own rule of fixed elections and called one for October 14th in the hopes of winning a Conservative majority. His party failed to do so. While making overtures of working with the opposition parties after that election, the government submitted a fiscal update on November 27 that was ideologically at odds with the opposition and did little to address the economic crisis that was plunging the world into a recession.
This action prompted the Liberals and NDP to formalize an accord setting out a Liberal-led coalition with support from the Bloc. This accord ended after the Governor General granted Harper’s request to prorogue government, the Liberal Party changed leaders and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty revised the contentious budget. It didn’t help that the Conservatives attacked the proposed coalition as “undemocratic” despite the fact that Harper was prepared to form a coalition government with the NDP and Bloc as an alternative to the Liberal minority in 2004.
Why a Coalition Now?
After six years of a Conservative minority government, and two elections, the governing party and opposition parties have struggled to find common ground. It is clear that Harper’s Conservatives are less interested in making a minority government work and more interested in finding ways to convince the electorate to hand them a majority.
Handing the Conservatives another minority government will do nothing to improve the state of affairs in Parliament. A coalition government that represents the majority of Canadians will better represent their values and concerns, and likely produce more stable governance in the years ahead.