OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government successfully navigated its first significant confidence test on Wednesday by employing a little-known parliamentary maneuver. The government adopted its response to the throne speech without a formal vote in the House of Commons. This procedural move was initiated by Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux, who serves as the parliamentary secretary to government House leader Steven MacKinnon. He moved to send the government reply to the King via Governor General Mary Simon without any objections.

Conservative Leader in the House of Commons Andrew Scheer was present to witness the motion's passage. Ian Brodie, a political scientist and former chief of staff to ex-prime minister Stephen Harper, suggested that this procedural tactic likely indicated an unspoken agreement between the new government and opposition parties. "I’m sure the opposition parties thought this through and have consented to let the Carney government continue on," Brodie stated.

According to the House rules of procedure, motions like the throne speech reply can be adopted without a vote under two conditions: by unanimous consent or "on division." The latter occurs when support for the motion is not unanimous, but no member of a recognized party calls for a recorded vote.

Interim NDP leader Don Davies had previously indicated that he would instruct his seven-member caucus to oppose the motion. However, he was unable to follow through on this threat, as the NDP does not have enough seats to be considered a "recognized party" in parliamentary proceedings.

The minority Liberal government faced a minor scare earlier in the week when it lacked the votes to block a hostile amendment to the throne speech reply. This amendment called for the government to present an economic update before Parliament's summer recess. However, the procedural vote was not deemed a matter of confidence, and the government has stated it does not consider it binding.

Liberal MPs downplayed the narrowly lost vote, expressing that they were not surprised by the outcome. Brodie noted that a new election would not necessarily have been triggered if the Liberal throne speech reply had been voted down. "The Governor General could reasonably ask (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre to form a government. It’s possible he could command the confidence of the House," Brodie explained. He also pointed out that the Liberal government has yet to clearly demonstrate that it enjoys the confidence of the House since Parliament was prorogued by Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, several months ago.