Canadian history is dotted with floor-crossers. Voters haven't always been thrilled

Catharine Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 6

Traitor, shameful, brave, principled.

There’s a spectrum of presumption utilized to picture MPs who transverse the floor. But past shows america there’s 1 connection that doesn’t ever instrumentality erstwhile Canadian politicians shed 1 enactment affiliation for another: re-electable.

Jaws dropped successful Ottawa pursuing the revelation that longtime Conservative Chris d'Entremont is joining the national Liberal caucus — with Prime Minister Mark Carney hinting others could follow.

Floor-crossing is simply a governmental improvement dating backmost to Confederation. But a dive into the grounds books shows it has progressively travel astatine an electoral price. 

“Switching parties is an highly risky determination that astir ever hurts a politician's chances of re-election,” said Semra Sevi, adjunct prof successful the University of Toronto’s governmental subject department. 

She tracked each MP who switched parties from Confederation to 2015. The insubstantial recovered that up until the mid-20th century, floor-crossers received astir the aforesaid ballot stock successful the predetermination instantly aft they changed parties arsenic the 1 before.

But since the 1970s, their fortunes person declined, she said.

“As parties go institutionalized, the electoral outgo of switching has roseate dramatically. So that makes governmental endurance extracurricular of one's enactment progressively unlikely,” Sevi said.

“There are uncommon instances of success. So clip volition archer if this volition beryllium 1 of them."

Over the years, hundreds of MPs person changed affiliations — immoderate beryllium arsenic an Independent oregon commencement their ain party, portion immoderate of the astir memorable cases impact joining their erstwhile rivals.

Switches labelled arsenic 'opportunistic'

Sevi said an MP's chances of getting re-elected aft changing parties often beryllium connected whether voters bargain their reasons.

D'Entremont said helium nary longer felt represented successful Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's enactment and pointed to his "negative" attack to politics.

“Switching is often seen arsenic opportunistic, truthful it harms credibility,” Sevi said. 

“This is simply a power that is happening astir 7 months aft the predetermination was held. So it truly depends if the voters successful his constituency hold oregon not [with] his reasons.” 

WATCH | Chris d'Entremont's constituents react:

As a much progressive conservative, d'Entremont mightiness beryllium capable to merchantability his determination to constituents successful Acadie-Annapolis without rebuff astatine the ballot box. The riding, antecedently West Nova, has voted reddish and bluish implicit the years. D’Entremont squeezed retired re-election successful April by conscionable 533 votes.

While determination whitethorn beryllium governmental consequences (and sanction calling) for changing enactment affiliation, there's thing to forestall it.

There person been unsuccessful attempts to unit a floor-crossing MP to question re-election nether the caller enactment banner done a byelection, but those bills failed to go law.

Notable floor-crossings done the years 

Jenica Atwin became the archetypal Green MP to beryllium elected extracurricular of British Columbia during the 2019 predetermination and helped turn the party’s footprint successful the House.

Two years aboriginal she crossed to beryllium with Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, pointing to enactment infighting including implicit issues similar the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Bucking Sevi's trend, she was re-elected arsenic a Liberal that aforesaid year. Atwin did not reoffer successful this year’s wide election.

In 2018 Leona Alleslev near the Liberals to articulation the Opposition benches, condemning Trudeau’s leadership. She was re-elected the adjacent twelvemonth but was defeated successful the 2021 election. 

WATCH | Alleslev defects to Conservatives:

Eve Adams near the governing Conservatives to articulation the Liberal Party successful aboriginal 2015, citing "mean-spirited leadership" arsenic her motive. Adams’s clip as a Liberal was comparatively short-lived. She yet mislaid the Liberal information to tally successful the 2015 predetermination to Marco Mendicino.

The aboriginal 2000s saw a fig of defections, including a wide exodus from the Stockwell Day-led Canadian Alliance. MPs had grown progressively disgruntled with Day’s enactment and the party's disappointing predetermination results. 

Former Conservative MP Eve Adams, left, is joined by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau arsenic she announces successful 2015 that she is leaving the Conservative Party to articulation the Liberals. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Over the span of a fewer months 13, of the party’s 66 MPs near oregon were suspended from the right-wing party. Some yet rejoined portion others went connected to signifier the Democratic Representative Caucus.

The schism yet led to Day’s resignation and spurred a merger with the Progressive Conservative Party to make the modern Conservative Party.

If d’Entremont wants to instrumentality to the House aft the adjacent predetermination helium whitethorn privation to instrumentality notes from chap Nova Scotian Scott Brison, who conscionable days aft the merger connected the close crossed the level to beryllium with the Liberals. He defended the determination saying helium wanted to enactment with “a enactment fuelled by bold ideas, not rigid ideologies.”

Voters successful Kings-Hants returned him to the House predetermination aft election, often with ample margins. 

Prime Minister Paul Martin welcomes defecting Conservative MP Belinda Stronach successful 2005. (Tom Hanson/The Canadian Press)

Perhaps the astir melodramatic floor-crossing successful Canadian past belongs to Belinda Stronach, who not lone joined the Liberals successful 2005, a twelvemonth aft vying for the Conservative leadership, but ended a narration successful the process.

Stronach had been dating Conservative Peter MacKay for a fewer months, earlier shocking the state erstwhile she revealed she’d beryllium joining past premier curate Paul Martin’s cabinet. The further ballot allowed his number authorities to bent connected for a fewer much months earlier they were yet defeated.

In an infamous interview, MacKay returned to his father's workplace successful Lorne, N.S., declaring his bosom was "a small banged up."

The Liberals would suffer successful the 2006 election, but Stronach won re-election successful Newmarket-Aurora arsenic a Liberal campaigner by a greater borderline than she had arsenic a Conservative.

That 2006 predetermination saw different highly arguable switch. 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper shakes hands with his commercialized minister, David Emerson, successful 2007. Emerson switched parties 2 weeks aft an election. (Chuck Stoody/The Canadian Press)

Just days aft winning the riding of Vancouver-Kingsway arsenic a Liberal, David Emerson switched parties and joined Stephen Harper’s Conservative cabinet. 

Emerson argued joining authorities was the champion mode to service his constituents. But the determination pb to chorus of outrage from Liberals who had worked connected his run and allegations Harper had offered an "inducement" to Emerson, contrary to the Conflict of Interest Act.

It sparked outrage and triggered an morals investigation. Both Harper and Emerson were cleared by the morals commissioner. Emerson did not tally successful the 2008 election.