How Floor-Crossings May Be Affecting Canadians’ Trust in Democracy

After several opposition MPs crossed the floor to join the governing Liberals in recent months, some of those MPs’ constituents are now expressing distrust in the country’s democratic system.

Toronto-area MP Michael Ma’s office has been the site of regular protests following his decision to leave the Conservatives to join the Liberals in December 2025. Most recently, after Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu crossed the floor on April 8, protesters gathered at her office shortly afterward with signs reading, “I voted Conservative, not Liberal,” and “Your vote doesn’t matter.”

Some political commentators say the recent floor-crossings could reduce trust in Canadian democracy, especially in the specific ridings of MPs who switched parties. This would be especially so in ridings where the MP who is defecting got more than 50 percent of the vote, as is the case in Gladu’s Ontario riding of Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, says Lydia Miljan, a professor of political science at the University of Windsor.

“I think all of these [floor-crossings] in some respects are eroding trust,” Miljan said.

Miljan said MPs who change party affiliation are “in some respects, disregarding the will of their constituents in how they voted” in the last election. She raised concerns that this could lead to a lower voter turnout in the next election amid rising cynicism that politicians are “not really there for the public good, but for their own self-interest.”

Julie Simmons, a political science professor at the University of Guelph, said floor-crossings could be reducing trust in politics among some Canadians, but added that others may find it beneficial if the governing party can have a majority. Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford said recently that if the upcoming federal byelections give the federal Liberals a majority government, it would bring “certainty.”

Others say that the average person may not be very tuned in to politics or have a lot of trust in politicians to begin with, and so the floor-crossings may have less of an effect in those cases.

Peter Graefe, a political science professor at McMaster University, said trust in politics will be eroded within Gladu’s riding, particularly since she had been “quite vocal on a number of issues that seemed very much out of keeping with the current positioning of the Liberal government.” Gladu’s riding has been a long-time Conservative stronghold. However, Graefe adds, he doesn’t think trust in Canada’s democracy will be seriously harmed by the floor crossings, as he is “not sure how much trust voters have in politicians generally.”

“I think for the most part, people aren’t paying that much attention … I don’t know if this necessarily has a negative impact, but it certainly doesn’t help in increasing trust,” he said.

Gladu is the most recent of four former Conservative MPs, in addition to one former NDP MP, who crossed the floor to the governing Liberals in recent months. The Liberal government is currently one seat short of a majority government, but upcoming byelections next week will likely give it a majority, since two of them are held in Liberal strongholds in Toronto.

Polling data has shown Canadians generally don’t approve of floor-crossings without the MPs leaving their parties running in a byelection first. An Angus Reid survey released in March, published shortly after former NDP MP Lori Idlout joined the Liberals, suggested that just 26 percent of Canadians believe that floor-crossers should be allowed to serve out their full terms under new party colours. The survey report added that 41 percent—a plurality—said floor-crossers should step down and re-contest their seats in a byelection.

A University of Toronto study released in 2016 found that when it comes to election time, Canadians tend to punish MPs who crossed the floor. The study said that after 1975, floor-crossers as a whole saw a 17 percent lower vote share than in their prior election when taken in the aggregate, and their re-election rate dropped to 41 percent compared to 66 percent prior to 1975.

Simmons said floor-crossings are a feature of Canada’s Westminster parliamentary system despite some being opposed to them. “If people are going to say that … any floor-crossing is undemocratic, then we have to look at the electoral system itself and consider how democratic that is,” Simmons said.

Historic Floor-Crossings

There have been hundreds of floor-crossings throughout Canadian history.

In some cases, floor-crossings occur over issues of principle, with some of them involving the lawmaker losing the benefits of being part of the governing caucus or the advantages that being part of a bigger party brings.

Liberal MP Leona Alleslev left the governing Liberals in 2018 to join the Conservatives, saying she didn’t approve of the government’s handling of economic issues, foreign affairs, and defence.

In 2010, Alberta MLAs Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth left the governing Progressive Conservatives to join the Wildrose Party, saying they weren’t happy with the way the PC government was running the province.

In some other cases, the MP gains more benefits when crossing the floor. In 1977, Jack Horner crossed the floor from the federal Progressive Conservatives to the governing Liberal Party, and was made a cabinet minister without a portfolio, and later became industry minister.

Former Conservative MP Belinda Stronach crossed the floor to join the Liberal government in 2005, days before a key confidence vote. Stronach’s vote saved the government from falling, and she was appointed to the role of minister of human resources and skills development.

Former Liberal MP David Emerson crossed the floor to join the Conservative government weeks after the 2006 federal election, and was given the role of international trade minister.

More recently, former Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont joined the governing Liberals in November 2025, saying that he wants to support the Carney government’s budget.

Former Conservative MP Michael Ma crossed the floor to the Liberals in December, saying the Liberal government offers the “practical approach we need to deliver on the priorities I hear every day” from constituents. Ma was the only Liberal backbencher who accompanied Prime Minister Mark Carney on his China trip in January.

Former Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux crossed the floor in February, after having previously said last year that rumours that he may be joining the Liberals are untrue, and that he intends to resign as a parliamentarian in the spring. He said his reason for joining the Liberals is that he wants to work with Carney to “help build our country’s strength.” He was appointed as Carney’s special adviser on economic and security partnerships.

In March, former NDP MP Idlout announced she joined the Liberals because of “new threats against our sovereignty” impacting the North, which includes her riding of Nunavut. Idlout was one of the two NDP MPs who abstained from voting on the Liberal government’s budget in November 2025, while the rest of the party voted against it, because she said the budget has a number of commitments related to Nunavut.

Gladu said on April 8 that the reason she joined the Liberals is that she wants “serious leadership and a real plan to build a stronger and more independent Canadian economy.”

Gladu’s floor-crossing has been the most unexpected one, as she has been very vocal against key Liberal government policies and legislation, and in 2020 had run as a candidate to be the leader of the Conservative Party. Gladu, who is pro-life, had said she would allow Conservative MPs to bring forth private member’s bills on restricting abortion, supported convoy protests against COVID-19 mandates in 2022, and most recently criticized the Liberal government for appealing court rulings against its invocation of the Emergencies Act to clear the convoy protests.

Carney says that opposition MPs are joining his party because they are “attracted by what the government is doing,” and that he is open to the floor-crossings because “the country needs to move forward.”

The leaders of the Conservatives and New Democrats have said that MPs who cross the floor should resign and run again in byelections.

“When a member of Parliament goes back on the word they made to their constituents and switches parties, constituents should be able to petition to throw them out and have a byelection,” Poilievre said on April 9.

The new leader of the NDP, Avi Lewis, whose party has a long-standing rule of not taking floor-crossers before a byelection is held, says voters get disappointed if the MPs they voted for change their party affiliation.

“Canadians are starting to go, ‘Does our vote count if we vote for somebody, and they just end up in the other party?’” Lewis told CTV.