OTTAWA—Last week, the Conservatives saw yet another Member of Parliament cross the floor to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals. Marilyn Gladu, the Sarnia, Ont.-area MP and—briefly—a former Conservative leadership candidate, was the one who made the move. Gladu, who had previously chastised fellow floor crossers and is someone seen as being a far-right leaning Conservative, was an unexpected departure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilivere’s fold.
In different public comments since exchanging her blue jersey for a red one, Gladu has cited the importance of the times in which we live and what she saw as Carney’s strong leadership skills as the motivation for her move. She offered no critique of her former boss or the party she represented in Parliament for 10 years.
Gladu’s departure elicited a steam of high-octane vitriol from her former Conservative mates, similar to the calling out that Chris d’Entremont received last November when he decided to be the first of four—and maybe counting—MPs to leave Team Poilievre for Team Carney. Poilievre also did not offer restraint in his criticism of Gladu’s motivation and departure.
The Conservatives have built a narrative of self-interest and personal benefit—“dirty backroom deals” as they call them—as the motive for the various floor crossers. On the surface, it is difficult to legitimately argue that any of the new Liberals MPs achieved some sort of payoff. All remain regular MPs, albeit with the governing party; none have, as yet, gone into cabinet, become parliamentary secretaries, or become committee chairs—all which involve pay and status bumps. Maybe that will happen over time.
Poilievre and his peers’ response to the Gladu crossing is likely meant to fire up the party’s current base with whom Poilievre still has a strong connection. But otherwise, Conservatives venting their spleen and being nasty doesn’t play well in the broader audience. Frankly, it comes across as a spat between jilted high-school sweethearts—nastiness for the sake of nastiness because the emotional maturity has not yet been developed.
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More concerning for Conservatives writ large is that it comes across as loser talk, and an abdication of the desire to assume responsibility for what seems to be a glaring caucus-management problem. When the working response is that it’s always somebody else’s fault, it starts to come across as pathetic. Victimhood is not a substitute for leadership, and not a path to success.
Poilievre and his team have a right to be angry about what is happening to them. They can whinge about Carney getting a majority government through undemocratic means. But it is hard to imagine circumstances where the Conservatives wouldn’t welcome floor crossers coming the other way. Leona Alleslev, or David Emerson, anyone?
Complaining is not leading. Pouting is not leading. Character assassination is not leading. Complain about the other guy, sure, but get to the root of your problem, and solve it if you can. If you can’t, then do what is best for your organization.
Clearly, something is not right with the relationship between the Conservative caucus and their leader. Carney may be pissing them off with his current political success, but he can’t be blamed for all that apparently ails the caucus.
If what is being reported is to be believed—that as many as 40 MPs don’t believe they can win because of the current leadership, and eight more people might be considering crossing the floor—then both the caucus and the Conservative leader need to sort this out. It’s time for them all to put on their big-kid pants and get to the bottom of what is wrong.
Tim Powers is chairman of Summa Strategies, and managing director of Abacus Data. He is a former adviser to Conservative political leaders.
The Hill Times
