You Say 'Coalition,' I Say 'Parliamentary Democracy'

Although he's ruled out a formal coalition with the Bloc and NDP, the Liberal leader lays out a post-election scenario that could see him in power.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff says he is open to forming a government if a Conservative minority is elected but can't gain the support of the House of Commons. Ignatieff, speaking in an interview with CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge, said doing so is not the same as ruling with a formal coalition with the NDP or Bloc Québécois, so long as the Liberals can garner enough votes in confidence motions to keep them afloat. In an appeal for a majority government, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has spent much of the campaign telling Canadians that an alternately “reckless” and “ramshackle” coalition led by the Liberals would threaten the country's stability, although recent polls show growing acceptance of the idea of a coalition government.

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