Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont resigned from the Conservative caucus Tuesday — and he told CBC News he will join the Liberals.
The longtime Conservative, who served in provincial politics before being elected to the House of Commons in 2019, told Politico earlier Tuesday he was considering crossing the floor and would make a decision on his future “in the next few days” after reviewing the federal budget, which was tabled this afternoon.
With this expected floor-crossing, the Liberals will soon hold 170 seats — just two short of a majority.
d’Entremont’s departure means the minority Liberal government needs fewer opposition votes to get the budget through the House of Commons.
Liberal whip Mark Gerretsen said his party is a “big tent” and there’s “always seats on our side for people who want to join.”
Gerretsen said d’Entremont was leaving the Conservatives because the party has become more stridently right-wing under Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
“The reality is what we’re seeing in the Conservative Party is that the progressive movement is dead. Quite frankly, Chris is a Progressive Conservative,” Gerretsen said.
Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman meanwhile said d’Entremont was betraying his constituents.
“Chris made a choice and I think the choice is to not fight inflation, not to fight to lower grocery prices like his constituents elected him to do,” she said in an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics shortly after the news broke.
Conservative MP Aaron Gunn was even more blunt: “He’s a coward,” he told reporters after news of d’Entremont’s departure broke.
Conservative MP Dominique Vien said she was “surprised and disappointed” that d’Entremont is leaving.