5th Canadian Conservative defects to Carney’s party

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party gained further momentum toward securing a majority government as Conservative lawmaker Marilyn Gladu announced her defection on Wednesday, citing concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty and economy.

“We need a serious leader who can address the uncertainty that has arrived due to the unjustified American tariffs,” Gladu said during a press conference alongside Carney. “We need a global leader with a plan to make a more resilient Canada, a stronger Canada, a more self-reliant Canada, for this critical moment and that man is our prime minister Mark Carney.”

Gladu is the fifth Canadian lawmaker to cross the floor to join Carney’s Liberals and the fourth Conservative MP to do so in recent months. Her decision puts the Liberals within striking distance of a parliamentary majority, with the party now holding 171 seats in the House of Commons—just one seat short of the 172 needed to secure a majority government.

The defection comes at a crucial moment for Canadian politics, as Carney has already called special elections for three districts scheduled for Monday. If the Liberals win just one of these contests, they would achieve the majority government status that would allow them to pass legislation without requiring support from opposition parties.

Two of the special elections will take place in Toronto-area districts of Scarborough Southwest and University-Rosedale, which analysts consider safe Liberal seats. The third election will be held in the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne, viewed as a competitive race that could go either way.

Since replacing Justin Trudeau as prime minister in 2025 and winning a subsequent national election, Carney—who previously served as governor of both the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada—has repositioned the Liberal Party toward the center-right of the political spectrum. This strategic shift appears to be attracting Conservative lawmakers dissatisfied with their party’s direction under Pierre Poilievre’s leadership.

The three other Conservative legislators who previously defected to join the Liberals were Chris d’Entremont, Michael Ma, and Matt Jeneroux. The party also welcomed Lori Idlout, formerly of the leftist New Democrats. Jeneroux specifically mentioned Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos as influential in his decision to switch parties—a speech where Carney condemned economic coercion by larger powers against smaller nations.

For Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, Gladu’s defection represents another significant setback. After losing both the previous national election and his own parliamentary seat last year, Poilievre has struggled to maintain party discipline despite winning a recent leadership review.

“Mark Carney is seizing a costly Liberal majority that voters denied him, and doing so through backroom deals,” Poilievre wrote on social media following the announcement. He also pointed out that Gladu had previously stated floor-crossers should face voters in special elections, adding, “She should honor her word and let voters decide.”

The defection is particularly surprising given Gladu’s history with the Conservative Party. The MP for Sarnia-Lambton—a district near the U.S. border—had served as a Conservative since 2015 and was the Ontario co-chair for Poilievre’s 2022 leadership campaign.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, characterized the move as “stunning,” noting that “Gladu was not typically seen as one of the most likely Conservative MPs to jump ship at this time so it must be quite shocking for many Conservatives.”

The political implications could be far-reaching. If the Liberals secure a majority government, they could potentially remain in power until 2029 without requiring another general election. For Poilievre and the Conservatives, the challenge of maintaining party unity grows increasingly difficult as more floor crossings remain possible.

Gladu herself acknowledged this new political reality, saying there was a “large Liberal tent” and that she’d “rather be inside it than outside”—a statement that may signal further Conservative defections on the horizon.