As the floor-crossing dust settles, Conservatives are bracing for more defections
OTTAWA — If there’s one person who won’t be receiving any Conservative MP Christmas cards, it’s Markham–Unionville MP Michael Ma.
In fact, if anything, Conservatives want the floor-crossing new Liberal MP to return a Christmas gift he already received.
“I was Michael Ma’s Secret Santa. I gave him an Amazon Fire Stick just hours before he crossed the floor. Now I want my gift back, just like the people of Markham—Unionville want their votes back!,” Conservative MP Kurt Holman posted on social media Friday morning.
Though metaphors involving Santa and lumps of coal may be seasonally relevant, the atmosphere in the Liberal and Conservative camps going into the Christmas break is more akin to a tale of two cities.
For the Carney Liberals, it feels like the best of times. The party is now one seat away (171) from the slimmest of majorities (172 seats) after a difficult fall Parliamentary session in which only one minor bill received royal assent by the time the House of Commons rose.
“What’s everyone’s favourite number?,” Liberal MP James Maloney asked thousands of Liberals attending the party’s Christmas party Thursday evening, just hours after Ma announced he was crossing the floor.
“171,” his co-host and Liberal MP Mona Fortier replied with a smirk, earning a standing ovation from elated party staff and MPs.
For many Conservatives, it feels like some of the worst of times they’ve experienced since Pierre Poilievre was elected leader in 2022.
In the last five weeks, the caucus has lost three MPs — Ma and Chris d’Entremont crossed the floor to the Liberals, Matt Jeneroux announced that he will resign at some point — and many fear that more are to come.
“I expect two more, at least,” one Conservative caucus member told National Post. “Poilievre will continue to die a death of 1,000 cuts, because I’ve never seen a guy who’s so unaware of the room he’s in, and I’ve never seen a guy who just refuses to stop doing stupid things.”
National Post spoke to multiple Liberal and Conservative caucus members for this story. All were granted anonymity to describe internal caucus dynamics candidly.
On Friday, there was rampant speculation on both sides of the aisle that if there are more Conservatives joining the Liberals, it could happen after Poilievre faces his leadership review in mid-January.
The fact that Ma covered his tracks so carefully before leaving his former caucus adds to the surprise and dismay of his former Conservative colleagues.
In the weeks leading up to his defection, Ma repeatedly voted with the Conservatives and lambasted the Liberals’ 2025 budget extensively.
He even attended the party’s private Christmas party Wednesday, had his picture taken with Poilievre and can be seen on the dance floor in videos shared online.
(Though, MPs will say, he did not buy a gift for his own Secret Santa recipient.)
One Conservative caucus member described Ma’s departure as a “gut punch”. Another said they were “very shocked” to hear the news.
“I am really trying to just absorb what all has transpired over the last few days,” said one MP. “I think we’re all probably just processing it.”
Among Liberal MPs, chatter has now turned from “if” more Conservative MPs will join their ranks to “when.” Among Conservatives, the focus is on “how” to stop the bleeding.
“They want to demoralize you. Don’t let them,” Conservative MP Jamil Jivani posted on X a few hours after Ma’s announcement. “You are right to believe our country needs better leadership. The status quo isn’t working. Keep fighting until we get a federal government that the great Canadian people deserve.”
On Friday, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon claimed he is aware of a “minority” within the Conservative caucus that is unhappy with the leadership and direction of their party.
“Many Conservative MPs speak to me, speak to my colleagues about their frustration with Pierre Poilievre’s obstruction and little games,” he said in French.
“There are others like Mr. Ma who share the kind of view that I just described,” he later added.
If another floor crossing to the Liberals happens, it will likely be done in total secret, much like with Ma. The secret was so tightly held that minutes before Christmas party co-hosts Fortier and Maloney took the stage, they were scrambling to rewrite their speech in light of the floor-crossing they never knew was coming.
Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley reported Friday that even Ma’s staff didn’t know until the last minute that he was crossing the floor.
“In caucus Wednesday… there was zero, zero, zero hint,” one Liberal MP told National Post. “Everything is done very, very underground.”
National Post
cnardi@postmedia.com
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