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Thursday's vote to extend Canada's military mission in Afghanistan signals to the troops and to allies that Canada is committed to its role and will be staying the course, said Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

Members of Parliament voted 198-77 in support of the motion to extend the mission until 2011. The extension depends on NATO coming through with 1,000 combat troops to help out in Afghanistan's volatile south.

The U.S. and several European countries have indicated they will provide the necessary troops.

"Yesterday's vote was a clear signal Canada will continue to play its role," MacKay told CTV's Canada AM on Friday.

"It's a Canadian endorsement. Having the Canadian Parliament after 30 hours of debate endorse this extension, I think, is very important and allows us now to bring focus to this mission."

Canada is also asking for eight helicopters to ferry troops and unarmed drones to spot the enemy.

MacKay said the focus in upcoming NATO meetings in Bucharest, Romania will be to secure the promise of the necessary troops and equipment.

"The focal point will be to see that we have more burden sharing -- that is more soldiers in Kandahar province working with Canada," MacKay said.

"There are two major allies we expect to come forward but we're going to continue to press all NATO allies to play a bigger role in Afghanistan and ensure this mission does succeed."

The vote came as anti-war protesters chanted in another area of Parliament. Some even had to be dragged away by guards.

Manley report followed

Former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley headed a panel that recommended Canada extend its military mission, but on the condition that more troops and equipment be provided by other NATO members.

He told Canada AM he was gratified to see the recommendations become reality.

"We never intended this to be poison pill but we did intend it to be a very clear indication to our own government as well as to our allies that things have not been going well in Afghanistan and greater effort on the part of the allies is required if the effort is to succeed, not just in Kandahar but more generally."

One day earlier, John Gomery slammed the Conservative government for largely ignoring his lengthy report into the sponsorship scandal, and doing little to implement his 19 recommendations.

Gomery said power has become concentrated in the Prime Minister's Office and that needs to change.

MacKay, however, said Thursday's vote demonstrated that democracy is alive and well in Ottawa.

"Democracy certainly wasn't under threat last night when members of parliament had the opportunity to vote with their conscience and vote for their constituents. We saw protestors in the gallery -- this is the beauty of democracy and it isn't always pretty and people have their opinion, including Mr. Gomery," MacKay said.

Passage of the confidence motion was basically assured after the Liberals and Conservatives ironed out a compromise last month. The Conservatives agreed to set a mission end date and focus on reconstruction efforts and training instead of seeking combat.

NDP, Bloc vote against extension

The NDP voted against extending the mission, along with most Bloc MPs.

NDP Leader Jack Layton told Â鶹ӰÊÓnet before Thursday's vote that he was "sorry that (Liberal Leader Stephane) Dion has decided to essentially prop up (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper and support the continued war effort."

"We don't have a sense of the final cost and even (where) the additional troops . . . are going to come from," Layton said. "We are embroiled in something that is not taking us towards peace."

Some critics say Canada needs to end its combat role. The Council of Canadians has warned that they will keep tabs on those MPs who voted in favour of extending the mission -- and they have threatened to campaign against them in the next federal election.

A Liberal senator says MPs did not pay enough attention to the mission funding, but instead focused on the political debate over why Canada is in Afghanistan.

"This war is going to take a lot more money than this government is prepared to admit," said Colin Kenny. "This government is also clearly not prepared to invest in it."

New Democrat Dawn Black says it is difficult to find out exactly what it costs Canada to fund the war. The mission's funding is part of the overall operating budget at the Department of Defence.

"Clearly, if they (the government) can downplay the costs in both human terms and in dollar terms, they think that will work to their advantage," Black said.