EventAction
House of Commons passes Part 2 of Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, at third reading by 306 votes to 31, with Conservatives voting in favour
On 20 June 2025 the House of Commons voted 306 to 31 (2 paired) to adopt Part 2 and the schedule of Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, which enacts the Building Canada Act; the third-reading question on the bill was put in two parts (recorded division no. 34). The first part (Part 1, the internal-trade act, and the short title) passed 335 to 1 (vote no. 33), with Green Party Leader Elizabeth May the only no. According to the official House of Commons vote record and openparliament.ca, Liberal and Conservative MPs voted yes. The 31 no votes came from the Bloc Québécois and NDP MPs, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. No Conservative MP voted no; two Conservatives did not vote and one was paired. The bill received royal assent on 26 June 2025.
- Date
- Kind
- Legislation
- Where
- Canada
- Evidence
- Action: Something was done: a law switched on, a tariff imposed, money committed. How evidence is weighed
- Who
- Elizabeth May (subject); Conservative Party of Canada (subject); Bloc Québécois (subject); New Democratic Party (federal) (subject); House of Commons of Canada (acted)
Sources
- openparliament.ca, “House of Commons vote 45-1 #33: C-5 Part 1 (internal trade) third reading” (external site). source record
- House of Commons, “House of Commons vote 45-1 #34 (C-5 Part 2 third reading)” (external site), . source record
- openparliament.ca, “House of Commons vote 45-1 #34: C-5 Part 2 (Building Canada Act) third reading” (external site), . source record
Laws and agreements
Claims that rest on this event
- C-5, the 2025 federal fast-track law, is durable, and this rests on recorded votes: no Conservative voted against the programming motion setting a fast timetable for it in the House (305-30), its second reading (304-29) or either part of its third reading (335-1 and 306-31), and during the 2025 campaign the Conservatives promised the same kind of system, faster ("One and Done").
No Conservative nays on the Building Canada Act.
- Cross-party support is for the projects, not the fast-track instruments: BC's Conservatives voted against both BC fast-track laws even though they promise more building.
Federal Conservatives did vote for the C-5 instrument.
How it bears on the outcome
| Explanation | Fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| O0 No meaningful speed-up | Against weak | A fast-track law enacted within weeks with broad support (the Building Canada Act passing third reading 306-31) would be somewhat surprising if no speed-up were coming; a law enables building, it does not build. |
| O1 Faster, but the extra output goes mostly elsewhere | Fits weak | Consistent with a faster build-out; the law says nothing about where output goes, so it fits this reading and the next equally. |
| O2 Faster, and more volume reaches the US (this level or higher) | Fits weak | Consistent with a faster build-out; the law is silent on destination, so it fits this reading and the previous one equally. |
| O3 Locked-in preferential terms for the US | Neutral weak | A domestic approvals law contains no US preferential terms. |
Logged against predictions
- P21: "The build-out laws outlast the campaign" (logged 4 October 2026, logged only)