A man lights a marijuana joint as he participates in the 4/20 protest on Parliament Hill, Monday, April 20, 2015 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The House of Commons has passed legislation that would legalize recreational use of cannabis in Canada, after the Liberals shut down a last-ditch effort by the Conservatives to delay implementation of the bill.

MPs voted in favour 200 to 82, sending the Liberal government’s marijuana bill off to the unpredictable Senate – which has the ability to delay or altogether stop the government’s pot plans, if a large number of senators decide to rally against it.

The NDP voted with the government to pass the Liberals’ cannabis act, along with Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and one Conservative — MP Scott Reid, who held a referendum in his riding over whether he should support Bill C-45. The opposition Conservatives otherwise opposed the bill, along with Bloc Québécois MPs.

The Liberals also rejected a Conservative amendment Monday night that would have had the bill come into force later than the bill’s target date of July 1, 2018.

Provinces, police organizations and opposition politicians have called for a delay in the Liberals’ July 2018 legalization deadline, saying they need more time to get ready.

Conservative MP Dave Van Kesteren’s amendment would have sent the bill back to committee so MPs could “establish a coming into force date that complies with the wishes of those provinces, territories, municipalities, law enforcement officials and first nation groups who require more time to prepare for the legalization of cannabis.”

But the Liberals insist they’re not rushing legalization.

Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the justice minister, told reporters Monday that the government has been working on a roadmap for legalization for more than a year and a half.

“We’re moving forward expeditiously,” he said, adding he doesn’t think there has “been any rush.”

Last week, the Liberals brought in time allocation at third reading stage to speed the bill’s process through the Commons, frustrating opposition MPs.

Conservative House Leader Candice Bergen said at the time that the Liberal government is “shutting down debate and ramming this legislation through because it has an arbitrary timeline.” Conservative MP Jacques Gourde issued a call to Senators to block the bill’s passage to prevent an “entire generation” from being “left in shambles by this Liberal recklessness.”

The bill now heads to the Senate, which University of Toronto political scientist Nelson Wiseman says is very much still a “wild card” given its current makeup. The biggest voting block in the Upper Chamber is the group of newly appointed independent senators who may not fall along partisan lines on the bill.

Wiseman said the prospect of the Senate obstructing bills – by delaying votes, voting the bill down, letting it die or amending it – has always been there, but the current landscape makes it less predictable.

“It’s a wild card because you’ve got all these independents and you don’t know what they’re going to say, how engaged they are with the issue. Some might fight it tooth and nail, some might try delay tactics as individual members,” he said.

The Independent Senators Group controls 39 votes in the Red Chamber, followed by the Conservatives with 34 and the Senate Liberals with 15.

Despite the uncertain waters ahead, Wiseman said he suspects the bill will pass on time.

“The deadline is July. There’s a lot of time between now and then.”