On December 4, 2008 Canada's Governor General Michaëlle Jean agreed to prorogue Canadian Parliament at the request of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper made the historic and unprecedented request in order to avert a certain vote of non-confidence in his newly elected Conservative minority government.

In response to an aggressive budget leaders of Canada's three other political parties; theLiberal Party, the Bloc Quebec, and the New Democratic Party, joined together to form a coalition in order to oust the Tories from power. The catalyst of the opposition party uprising was a proposal by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to cut off all Federal funding to opposition parties while increasing spending for the party in power.

On January 26, 2009 Canada's Parliament reconvenes. Newly chosen Liberal leader Micheal Ignatieff has stated that should the Conservative Party return a budget similar to the one they tabled in December the coalition will rise again. In response Harper has assured opposition leaders, and Canadians, that there will be no need for a non-confidence vote as the new budget will have substantial changes.

Canadians must now wait to see if they will be governed by an unpopular opposition coalition, face a new election, or retain a humbled version of the minority Conservative government they voted into power in October 2008.