Dan Albas: Passing legislation in a minority parliament

It is interesting to note that this minority Parliament is the 14th minority in Canadian history.

Many of Canada’s previous minority governments have lasted anywhere from one to two years, although some longer.

One reason why minority governments tend not to last relates to the efforts of the minority Government to attempt to form a majority.

Why a majority? 

Having a majority is how a Government can fully implement its agenda.

In recent times majority governments typically see 75% – 80% of all legislation put forward being passed.

Often this requires parliamentary tactics such as “time allocation” or “closure” to achieve this, however these are also legitimate Parliamentary procedures.

In minority government the success rate for passed legislation is much lower.