Following the surprise floor-crossing of longtime Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu to the Liberal benches, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon won’t say whether there’s a red line on which defecting MPs the Liberals will or won’t bring into their caucus.
On Wednesday Gladu became the fifth MP — and fourth Conservative — to cross the floor and join the Liberals in as many months.
Her decision, though, raised eyebrows, because of her longstanding positions on vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic, abortion, and LGBTQ2S+ issues.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, insisted Gladu will “vote with the government” on social issues, and speaking to reporters from the Liberal convention on Thursday, Gladu herself said the same.
In an interview with CTV’s Question Period airing Sunday, MacKinnon wouldn’t directly answer when pressed by host Vassy Kapelos whether there are any red lines for who the party will or won’t accept into the fold.
“Our party is built on very solid foundations, foundations of equality, of human rights, a woman’s right to choose, equality of men and women indeed,” MacKinnon said. “And these are principles that are pretty sacred.”
Gladu’s floor crossing puts the Liberals a single seat shy of the 172-seat threshold for a majority government, a number they’re expected to reach Monday after three by-elections, two of which are in longtime Liberal strongholds.
When pressed by Kapelos on how Liberal principles should be perceived as “sacred” — citing the numerous examples of Gladu’s historic opposition to them — MacKinnon insisted his newest caucus colleague has answered those questions herself.
“We’re very, very pleased to have Marilyn Gladu, and she’s answered, I think, all of those questions, and many others, in entirely satisfying ways for Liberals,” MacKinnon said.
And, when pressed a third time whether the Liberals are willing to take anyone if it means more power, MacKinnon repeated that the party has “foundational principles.”
“We’re going to reach our hands across the aisle to continue to seek support from all corners of the House of Commons for our policies,” he said. “That will not change.”
“But we will keep a light on and a door open for all of those who want to support Liberal Party principles, which are immutable, and the prime minister, his policies and our platform,” MacKinnon added.
Asked whether Gladu was promised anything for her riding in exchange for her defection from the Conservatives, MacKinnon shook his head and said: “Of course not.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, for his part, has accused Carney of “backroom deals” to lure his caucus members over to the Liberal ranks.
Also, in an interview on CTV’s Question Period airing Sunday, Conservative MP Shuvaloy Majumdar called Prime Minister Mark Carney “authoritarian,” accusing him of “playing conniving games” by achieving a majority government in part through floor-crossing.
“They’re denying the democracy that was reflected in the last election, which was a fiercely contested election, a narrowly decided outcome,” Majumdar told Kapelos. “Canadians voted for a minority Parliament, and in doing so, they had an expectation that the government, the opposition, would work together on their priorities.”
Majumdar wouldn’t directly answer, however, when asked about the Conservative party’s changing position on floor-crossers. In 2018 — under then-Conservative leader and current Conservative House Leader, Andrew Scheer — MP Leona Alleslev left the governing Liberals to join the Conservative caucus.
You can watch Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon’s full interview on CTV Question Period Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
