Wednesday November 5, 2025 | OTTAWA, ON [Reporting from VICTORIA, BC | Posted at 4:14 am PT | Updated 6:17 am PT]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The minority Liberal government needs a few opposition party votes in order to see its budget bill pass in the House of Commons.
A fortuitously timed gift for the Liberals is having a new MP in their ranks. Yesterday after the Liberal Budget was tabled Nova Scotia Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont (Acadie-Annapolis) left the Conservatives and has joined the Liberal caucus.
Elected as a Conservative MP with a very slim margin of just over one percent over the Liberal candidate in the April 28 election, d’Entremont will now serve his constituency as a Liberal MP.
d’Entremont was the only Conservative MP in Nova Scotia.
Seat count:
With this floor-crossing, the Liberals will now hold 170 seats. The Liberals will need 172 votes to see their Budget 2025 pass.
There are 343 seats in the House of Commons, of which the Liberals had 169 after the spring 2025 election; now they have 170.
Smart budget timing:
Budget votes are confidence votes. If the Liberals don’t see the budget passed then a federal election would almost certainly follow.
It was clever of Carney to choose an early November date for tabling the budget. Now working in his favour is the resistance most Canadians would have to a Christmas-time election being called.
Budget debate will happen over about the four days in the House of Commons. As well, both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finance Minister Champagne will be out ‘selling’ the budget across the country, starting today.
The budget vote might be expected during the week of November 17 to 21, as parliamentarians are not in session during the week of November 10 to 14.
Why the shift:
“After serious consideration and thoughtful conversations with constituents and my family, I came to a clear conclusion: there is a better path forward for our country — and a better path forward for Acadie-Annapolis,” said d’Entremont in a statement released by the Liberal Party of Canada.
“Prime Minister Mark Carney is offering tht path with a new Budget that hits the priorities I have heard most in my riding, to build strong community infrastructure and grow a stronger economy,” said the new Liberal MP.
“After five years of serving in opposition, the people of Acadie-Annapolis and all Canadians know that the moment we face today needs all of us to lead — not with complaint, but with confidence in a strong future,” said d’Entremont.
The background politics on this is that d’Entremont sought Conservative support at the beginning of the 45th Parliament to be the Speaker of the House and didn’t get their support.
Politically speaking, d’Entremont could be described as a progressive Conservative which aligns with how Carney — despite being Liberal — is guiding the country at this time.
===== RELATED:
- Federal Budget 2025: investment for economic development & productivity (November 4, 2025)
- NEWS SECTIONS: 45th PARLIAMENT of CANADA | CANADA-NATIONAL | LIBERAL PARTY | CONSERVATIVE PARTY | BUDGET 2025