Coalmaj
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What exactly is a coalition government and how is it different from a majority government?
If the majority of MPs are from one political party, the government is said to be a “majority” government. In such a case, it is generally expected that government will at all times enjoy the confidence of the majority of MPs in the House of Commons. To help this process, the GG generally appoints as PM the leader of the political party that controls more than half of the seats in the House. However, when there is a “free vote”, it is still possible – even in a majority – for the government to lose the confidence of the majority. That would normally trigger an election.
If no party has the majority of seats there is, instead, more than one potential government. In such a case, the GG has to choose as PM the MP that is most likely to be able to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons.
a. In such a case, it is usually the leader of the political party who has the largest number of seats in the House (even though that number is not a majority). This is what occurs in a minority government. This is what occured in this case, and the leader that was chosen was Stephen Harper.
b. However, it is possible, for example, for more than one party to partner together to create a larger number of MPs. This is known as coalition. In other words, a coalition government is a government with cabinet ministers from more than one party.
Both a minority government and a coalition government need the support of more than one party to form a government, because in both cases no one party has a majority of seats in the House of Commons.
That being the case, if, for example, the Liberals, NDP and Bloc had formed a coalition earlier this fall, the GG may have appointed an MP from the coalition as the PM (had that occured, that would likely have been Stéphane Dion, as he is leader of the party with the next highest number of seats).
However, regardless of whether a government is a minority or a coalition government, if the government loses a vote in the House of Commons (thereby losing the “confidence of the House”), the GG must act. Generally, she would either call an election, or try and find someone else who will have the confidence of the House, and make that MP the PM instead.
See also: More Coalition Government and Prorogation of Parliament FAQs
Updated December 2008
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