Editing House of Commons of Canada (section)

=== Member roll-call ===
When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either "yea" (in favour of the motion) or "nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but five or more members may challenge the assessment, thereby forcing a recorded vote (known as a [[division (vote)|division]], although, in fact, the House does not divide for votes the way the British House of Commons does). First, members in favour of the motion rise, so that the clerks may record their names and votes. Then, the same procedure is repeated for members who oppose the motion. There are no formal means for recording an abstention, though a member may informally abstain by remaining seated during the division. If there is an equality of votes, the speaker has a casting vote.

The member of the Government responsible for steering legislation through the House is [[Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)|leader of the Government in the House of Commons]]. The ''government house leader'' (as they are more commonly known) is a member of Parliament selected by the prime minister and holds cabinet rank. The leader manages the schedule of the House of Commons and attempts to secure the Opposition's support for the Government's legislative agenda.

The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand since political parties in Cabinet normally instruct members on how to vote. A party normally entrusts some members of Parliament, known as [[whip (politics)|whips]], with the task of ensuring that all party members vote as desired. Members of Parliament do not tend to vote against such instructions since those who do so are unlikely to reach higher political ranks in their parties. Errant members may be deselected as official party candidates during future elections, and, in serious cases, may be expelled from their parties outright. Thus, the independence of members of Parliament tends to be extremely low, and "backbench rebellions" by members discontent with their party's policies are rare. In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", allowing members to vote as they please. This may be done on moral issues and is routine on [[private members' bills]].