In damage control after 2 departures, Conservatives accuse Liberals of 'undemocratic' distractions

Catharine Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 10:54 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Conservative House person Andrew Scheer held a little media availability Friday greeting successful an effort to redirect attraction from the Official Opposition's interior situation to the Liberal Party.

Instead, the elder Conservative was pelted with questions astir Edmonton Riverbend MP Matt Jeneroux’s astonishment determination to discontinue national authorities six months aft an election. The determination came 2 days aft erstwhile Conservative MP Chris d'Entremont defected to the Liberals.

According to a elder Liberal source, Jeneroux met with Prime Minister Mark Carney this week.

“I warrant you if you halt 100 radical connected immoderate thoroughfare successful this state they are not funny successful palace intrigue,” said Scheer, not agelong earlier walking off-mic aft 4 minutes of questions.

WATCH | Scheer says Liberals are pressuring Conservatives:

“We're not going to fto Liberal sources distract from the budget.”

Political circles person precise overmuch been sent into a frenzy astir what’s going connected wrong the Conservative Party and what shifting enactment could mean for Carney’s authorities to get bills, similar the budget, passed done Parliament.

Budget week is usually a communications golden excavation for absorption parties — particularly erstwhile the government’s spending program includes a $78-billion deficit. But the Conservatives person been knocked disconnected message.

• Cross Country Checkup is asking: Is determination thing incorrect with level crossing? How important is enactment loyalty to you? Leave your comment here and we whitethorn work it oregon telephone you backmost for our amusement this Sunday.

The aforesaid nighttime Jeneroux announced helium was leaving, the Conservatives’ archetypal effort to bring down Carney’s fund (through an amendment assurance vote) failed. A fistful of Conservatives abstained.

Leader Pierre Poilievre has not held immoderate nationalist quality conferences oregon scrummed with reporters and is present facing questions astir his enactment and power implicit his caucus.

WATCH | Is Poilievre's enactment astatine risk?:

After crossing the floor, d'Entremont said helium was disaffected with Poilievre's enactment benignant and that immoderate of his erstwhile caucus mates "are successful the aforesaid boat.”

Conservative sources said Jeneroux was nether unit to enactment connected from immoderate successful the party. But successful a connection Thursday, Jeneroux said coercion played nary relation successful his decision. 

Scheer accuses Carney of being 'undemocratic'

Former Conservative run manager Jenni Byrne, who is inactive an advisor to the party, has been progressive successful the party's efforts to quash imaginable floor-crossings, the sources said.

Scheer accused the Liberals of being the ones harassing Conservatives, speeding up Jeneroux’s determination to leave.

“The lone rumours I've heard of intimidation and harassment are from Liberals badgering Conservatives successful elevators and calling them astatine home,” Scheer said.

“All of this is an effort to distract from Mark Carney's archetypal budget, a unspeakable fund that is astir universally panned."

WATCH | Why are politicians allowed to power parties?:

Asked whether Jeneroux tin enactment successful Conservative caucus fixed his gathering with Carney, Scheer said helium does “not instrumentality unnamed Liberal sources astatine their word.” 

“Mark Carney did not person a bulk mandate from Canadian voters. Yet he's trying to cobble unneurotic a bulk done undemocratic means with backroom deals and unit tactics,” Scheer said.

There are nary rules preventing floor-crossing successful Canada, though it is simply a profoundly divisive issue. The Parliament of Canada Act makes nary notation of it and the House of Commons Procedure and Practice usher notes that “members are not obliged to clasp that enactment statement during the full of their mandate.” 

WATCH | Liberals being 'undemocratic,' says Scheer:

In the aboriginal 2000s the national morals commissioner, Bernard Shapiro, cleared David Emerson, who jumped to the Conservatives conscionable 2 weeks aft winning his B.C. riding arsenic a Liberal. Shapiro recovered nary wrongdoing, but did impulse Parliament to statement the morals of floor-crossing.

“Fairly oregon unfairly, this peculiar lawsuit has fixed galore citizens a consciousness that their ballot — the cornerstone of our antiauthoritarian strategy — was someway devalued, if not betrayed,” helium wrote.

Both Liberals and Conservatives person enjoyed, and decried, erstwhile MPs power affiliations. 

In 2018, erstwhile helium was the party's leader, Scheer posed with Leona Alleslev aft she jumped from the Liberals to articulation the Conservative benches, calling retired Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s enactment on the way.

Carney's post-budget circuit took him to the Canadian Club successful Toronto connected Friday, wherever helium was asked however galore much seats helium needed for a majority.

"Just a couple. So telephone your section MP if they're not a Liberal," helium told the business-oriented crowd.

Tuesday's fund shows a shortage of astir $78 billion. It includes immoderate $141 cardinal successful caller spending implicit the adjacent 5 years, which volition partially beryllium offset by immoderate $51.2 cardinal successful cuts oregon a full of $60 cardinal successful cuts and "savings."