Liberals say the party is 'bigger than one person,' as Gladu unsettles progressives

MONTREAL — The Liberal party is calling itself a “big tent” party, but progressives say they would like to see their values upheld.

“It was a very important moment in time, in 2015 when Justin Trudeau said that this party is a pro-choice party, and people who run for us must be pro-choice, or at the very least be committed to upholding those values,” said Liberal MP Karina Gould.

“And I heard the prime minister say that he believes that as well, and so I’m going to hold him to that, and I’m going to hold anybody who joins our party to that as well,” she added.

More than 4,500 Liberals have gathered in Montreal for their national convention this weekend.

Prime Minister Mark Carney made his rounds on the convention’s fifth floor on Friday, shaking hands and talking to party members.

Carney’s “big tent” now includes social conservative Marilyn Gladu, who announced her decision to join the Liberals on Wednesday. During her decade as a Conservative MP representing the Ontario riding of Sarnia—Lambton–Bkejwanong, Gladu was one of the Liberals’ fiercest critics both publicly and within her own caucus.

She also called for a renewed debate on abortion and opposed a sweeping Liberal ban on conversion therapy.

Carney said Gladu will vote with the Liberal government on issues concerning a woman’s right to choose, same-sex marriage and conversion therapy.

“To be very honest with you, I was surprised, like many of my colleagues,” said Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault, on Gladu’s addition to the caucus.

“The Liberal Party is obviously bigger than one person,” he added. “We’re not changing the Liberal party; we’re not changing our values.”

A notable fighter of climate change, Guilbeault quit Carney’s cabinet in November after the government signed an energy deal with Alberta. The agreement paves the way for a potential pipeline to the West Coast, although the final details of that agreement ran past the initial April 1 deadline.

The Quebec MP said he recalls Gladu “scream at me on a number of occasions on things like climate change.”

“She’s now joining the party who believes that climate is an issue, and who is still putting in place measures to fight climate change,” he said.

Former British Columbia Premier Christy Clark said she ran a coalition party and found that she often got a better outcome with more voices at the table.

“I think there are more risks to having an ideological, narrow focus party where everybody always has to toe the line,” she said. “It’s healthier to have a broad array of voices inside a caucus where a leader is forced to compromise sometimes, and those voices are the voices of their constituents.”

When asked if she would consider running federally, she said “you never know.”

Three byelections are set to take place on Monday. Two Toronto byelections in the ridings of Scarborough Southwest and University—Rosedale, which were previously held by Bill Blair and Chrystia Freeland, are heavily favoured towards the Liberals.

The third byelection will be held in Terrebonne, Que., where the Liberals won by one vote against the Bloc Québécois, before the results were nullified by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Laura D’Angelo, national strategy and public affairs vice-president at Enterprise Canada and former adviser to Trudeau, said the majority Carney will likely get on Monday is a slim one, which will still pose challenges.

“A slim majority is really hard,” she said. “It’s actually not that different than a minority situation, except instead of negotiating with a House leader in the House of Commons, you’re negotiating with your individual caucus members, and that can be much more challenging.”

But speculation about more floor crossers from the Conservative party persists at the convention.

Recent floor-crosser Chris d’Entremont said there are number of his former colleagues that are unhappy with the direction of the Conservative party.

One Liberal source speaking on background said they wouldn’t be surprised if there is another defection to the Liberals announced before the end of the weekend.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand took the convention stage on Friday and said her party is inclusive and “everyone has a place in this large tent.”

Joining her onstage was Liberal MP Matt Jeneroux, who crossed the floor from the Conservatives in February.

He said he has not looked back since joining the Liberals, noting he has “slept well every night.”

National Post

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