Floor-crossing takes centre stage at Liberal party convention in Montreal
Building affordable housing and protecting the French language were among the main agenda items on Day 2 of the Liberal party’s national convention Friday.
But the talk in the corridors and in front of TV cameras was focused on the flow, and ethics, of floor-crossers who strolled over to the federal Liberals, all but guaranteeing the party a majority in the House of Commons in the coming days.
In the last five months, four Conservatives and one member of the NDP have switched to the Liberals in the wake of Mark Carney’s election as prime minister. News reports have suggested the flow could become a wave, with as many as a dozen more opposition members reportedly in reflection about crossing over.
The party is expected to gain majority status on Monday when at least two of three byelections are projected to go their way. The uncertain byelection is in Terrebonne, where Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste is in the running again after her win by one vote in the last federal election was overturned by the Supreme Court.
Marilyn Gladu, the latest Conservative party member to defect to the Liberals, became a focal point on the first day of the convention, ushered into the Palais des congrès by Carney himself amid a sea of Liberal supporters and media called to the event.
On Thursday night, the Liberals called an impromptu press conference with Gladu to respond to numerous questions about how a former Conservative who had espoused views not in line with Liberal policies, including on abortion and LGBTQ rights, could fit into the party.
Gladu said she would vote for the government and “protect the rights and freedoms of women to chose, for people to be who they are and love who they love.” Her comments mirrored almost word for word statements made earlier by Carney when asked about Gladu’s previously stated views on abortion.
Gladu also said members of Parliament who chose to switch parties should be forced to run in a byelection to preserve their seat. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he supported that view as well. This week, Gladu said crossing the floor was the best thing for her riding, her nation and herself “at a critical time for the country.”
In the hallways of Montreal’s convention centre, Liberals were passing the message their party was one built on differing viewpoints.
“That mix of opinions is really important, because political parties don’t represent an ideology, they represent Canadians, and Canadians are diverse,” said Christy Clark, the former Liberal premier of British Columbia.
Asked whether the floor-crossing was caused by Poilievre’s leadership or political opportunism, Clark said both could be in play, but ultimately most MPs get into politics “because they want to get things done, and its hard to do that in opposition.”
Byelections, Clark said, are expensive and take a lot of time, she said, and barring MPs from crossing the floor would give prime ministers and political leaders almost dictatorial powers. Members of Parliament need to have the independence to choose which party they want to be in “and the voters will have a say in the next election,” she said.
The convention is the largest in the party’s history, organizers said, bringing in more than 4,500 members to debate party policy, network and get training in how to run local political campaigns.
Carney is scheduled to address the convention Saturday afternoon.
Editor’s Picks
The post Floor-crossing takes centre stage at Liberal party convention in Montreal appeared first on Montreal Gazette.