Canadian MPs to return after seismic shifts over summer break

On Monday Parliamentarians will return to the familiar stone walls of West Block in Ottawa to find the political landscape has shifted significantly.

When they last gathered in the capital the Liberals knew their prospects were poor after languishing in the polls for more than a year, but they were secure in the knowledge the New Democrats would prevent them from toppling before they table the next budget, at least.

But the summer saw several seismic shifts that mean the government will now operate as a true minority that could fall to an election at any time.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh pulled out of a political pact with government just weeks ago, and already faces a challenge from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to vote non-confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his governing party.

The stakes are high for the NDP, whose electoral promise doesn’t appear to have improved drastically as a result of some of the legislation and programs they managed to extract from the Liberals as part of the deal, including a national dental-care plan and a pharmacare bill that’s currently making its way through the Senate.

The new dynamics open up new opportunities for the Bloc Québécois, whose leader Yves-François Blanchet has already signalled he’s willing to do business with the Liberals in exchange for his own list of demands that benefit Quebec.

The Bloc’s stipulations include the Liberals green lighting the party’s private member’s Bill C-319, which would bring pensions for seniors aged 65 to 74 to the same level as that paid to those aged 75 and over.

The Bloc need a royal recommendation from a government minister to OK the financial implications and get the bill through the House.

The Liberals meanwhile have said they eschew