⚖️ Chapter 5: How Canadians Govern Themselves
What must Cabinet ministers do if they lose a non-confidence vote?
Correct answer: Resign
A Ask the courts to review the vote
B Call a vote in the Senate
✓ Resign
D Serve out the rest of the four-year term
💡 Explanation
Defeat in a non-confidence vote obliges ministers to step down.
Key facts to remember
- Voters elect members to the House of Commons in Ottawa
- Voters also elect provincial and territorial legislatures
- Elected members pass laws and approve spending
- Elected members keep the government accountable
- Ministers must keep the "confidence of the House"
- Defeat in a non-confidence vote forces ministers to resign
- Cabinet ministers answer to elected representatives
Why this is the answer
From the official Discover Canada study guide — 5.2.1 Parliamentary Democracy:
In a parliamentary democracy the people do not write the laws themselves. They elect others to do it for them. Canadians vote for members of the House of Commons in Ottawa, and also for members of their provincial or territorial legislature. Those elected members have three main jobs. They pass laws. They approve public spending and then keep watch over how the money is actually used. And they hold the government to account for what it does and fails to do.
Cabinet ministers answer to the elected members. They must keep what is called the "confidence of the House". In plain words, a majority of elected members has to keep supporting the government. If the government is beaten in a non-confidence vote, the ministers must resign. This rule matters because ministers are not elected to their posts as ministers; the House is. A government therefore cannot ignore the elected chamber and simply carry on governing.
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