What is a majority government?

Once the votes are counted, attention moves to the seat totals in the House of Commons. As a rule, the party holding the largest number of seats is asked to form the government. That invitation comes from the Governor General. The leader of that party is then appointed by the Governor General and takes office as Prime Minister. This is the normal path from an election result to a working government.

Two words describe the strength of a new government. Count the seats a governing party holds in the House of Commons. Half or more of them makes it a majority government. Under half makes it a minority government. Either way, the party in power governs only while most MPs still give it their support, or confidence. A minority government must therefore work harder to keep that support.

Not every vote in the House of Commons carries the same weight. Take the budget, or any other big question: a vote on it counts as a matter of confidence. Should most members turn down an important government decision, the governing party has lost. What normally follows is an election. The Prime Minister goes to the Governor General, who acts for the Sovereign, and asks that an election be called.

The Prime Minister picks the ministers of the Crown. Most of them are chosen from among the MPs. Each minister is given charge of a federal government department and is responsible for running it. The Prime Minister and these ministers together make up the Cabinet. The Cabinet takes the important decisions about how the country is governed. It prepares the budget and puts forward most new laws. Every member of the House of Commons may question what it decides.

The parties that did not form the government are the opposition parties. Among them, the one holding the largest number of seats has a special role. It becomes the Official Opposition, also known as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Opposition is meant to be peaceful. The task of these parties is to argue against government plans, or to suggest ways of improving them, rather than to obstruct by any other means.

In 2012 the House of Commons contained three major political parties: the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party and the Conservative Party. Whether a party governs or sits in opposition depends on the number of seats it wins. The largest one forms the government. The biggest party among those left becomes the Official Opposition. Because seat totals shift at every election, these roles can pass from one party to another.