I've been wondering: what happens in the event that two parties tie for second place? For example, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Liberals and NDP both tied at 20 seats in this election. Who becomes official opposition? Do we have any precedent for this in Canada?
Actually there is a precedent for this. I think it happened in Saskatchewan in the 70s when the Liberals and PCs were tied. If I'm not mistaken the party that is the incumbent official opposition retains the title! But i could be wrong
There's a precedent in Alberta from 2014, when Danielle Smith led most of the Wildrose caucus across the floor to the PCs. 5 Wildrose MLAs refused to cross the floor, and the Liberals (who also had a caucus of 5) challenged them for the Official Opposition title. The Speaker ruled that the Wildrose would stay as Official Opposition as they were the incumbents.
