What usually happens if the government is defeated in the House of Commons?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: If a majority of the members of the House of Commons vote against a major government decision, the party in power is defeated, which usually results in the Prime Minister asking the Governor General, on behalf of the Sovereign, to call an election. The outcome the test wants is therefore the Prime Minister asks the Governor General to call an election.

The trigger is a major-issue defeat. Discover Canada describes major votes — including "the budget" — as confidence matters: "such as the budget, this is considered a matter of confidence." So when the elected House of Commons votes against the government on a confidence matter, the government has lost the confidence of the elected chamber, and the next step follows.

The Prime Minister's role in calling the election is precise. Discover Canada says the PM asks the Governor General — and the Governor General acts "on behalf of the Sovereign." So the formal authority to call the election runs through the constitutional chain (PM → Governor General → on behalf of Sovereign), not through any direct action by Cabinet or the elected chamber.

The result is a return to the voters. Discover Canada's logic is that confidence comes from voters in the first place — through the most-seats-after-election rule — and when the government loses that confidence, the only way to refresh it is another election. Either the same party wins again with renewed support, or a different party gets the most seats and forms a new government. Either way, the loss of confidence is settled at the ballot box, not in Parliament alone.

The question is testing whether new citizens know what follows a confidence-vote defeat in the House. Discover Canada commits to one outcome: the Prime Minister asks the Governor General to call an election. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each contradict the guide. The PM does not just resign and let the party choose a new leader — Discover Canada's "usually" outcome is an election. Parliament does not continue with no changes — the government has been defeated. And the opposition does not automatically take over — the question is settled by the next election.