A Bloc Québécois motion calling on parliamentarians to reiterate their "full and complete confidence" in Elections Canada passed Tuesday in a House of Commons vote, despite opposition from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives.

The vote passed 152-117, with the support of all three opposition parties.

The prime minister did not attend the vote, but the government's opposition to the motion is seen as a strong statement by the Tories, who have been caught up in an ongoing dispute with Elections Canada over alleged overspending on advertising in the last federal election.

Elections Canada and RCMP conducted a raid on Conservative Party headquarters in Ottawa two weeks ago. The Bloc motion also called for a vote of confidence in William Corbett, the elections commissioner who requested the search.

According to the documents filed by Elections Canada in support of the search warrant, the Conservatives are accused of exceeding their campaign spending limit by more than $1 million, and making "false and misleading" statements in their financial returns for the last election.

Elections Canada alleges the Conservatives overspent on election ads by disguising national ads as local expenses in an "in-and-out" scheme that involved the participation of 67 candidates — including four cabinet ministers.

During question period in Parliament, the prime minister reiterated the government's position that the party has done nothing wrong and has been unfairly targeted by Elections Canada.

Agency 'anchor of our democracy': Ignatieff

But opposition members accused the government of tarnishing Elections Canada's internationally acclaimed reputation and undermining public trust in the democratic process.

The organization also trains election officials around the world and has monitored contentious votes in places like Haiti, Iraq and Ukraine.

"I find it unbelievable that a governing party in Canada would refuse to support a motion expressing confidence in the institution that keeps our country's elections fair," Liberal deputy leader Michael Ignatieff said Tuesday.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said the Conservatives are displaying "a once again typical arrogant attitude towards the institutions that we've created here in Canada to look after our affairs."

Ignatieff noted other parties have had their share of disputes with Elections Canada over the years and acknowledged that the agency is "not infallible." Nevertheless, he said it deserves to be respected and supported and he called the Conservatives' refusal to do so "shameful" and "dangerous."

"They are the anchor of our democracy," Ignatieff said.

Harper responded by saying his party has "followed all the laws" and guidelines "that have been used for years, allowed by Elections Canada, and used by every single party."

The Tories have never refused to provide any documentation requested by the agency, Harper added.

"In fact, by our own lawsuit, we are required to provide that documentation, and we believe, Mr. Speaker, that as a consequence, that raid broke Elections Canada's own rules."

But Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said the Tories' refusal to express confidence in Elections Canada is typical of Harper, who has fired the heads of a number of independent agencies — including the head of Canada's nuclear safety watchdog, the ethics commissioner and the environment commissioner — when they've disagreed with him.

"Mr. Harper doesn't feel at ease with civil servants, with independent organizations or offices, with journalists, with the opposition — in a word, with democracy," Duceppe said.

With files from the Canadian Press