{"id":342497,"date":"2025-12-13T11:47:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T11:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/342497\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T11:47:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T11:47:21","slug":"mps-joining-liberals-dont-like-tory-games-under-poilievre-mackinnon-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/342497\/","title":{"rendered":"MPs joining Liberals don\u2019t like Tory \u2018games\u2019 under Poilievre: MacKinnon – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

The addition of ex-Conservative MP Michael Ma<\/a> to the Liberal caucus is further proof that some members of the Opposition are \u201cextremely frustrated\u201d with the \u201csilly games\u201d being played by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre<\/a>, government House leader Steve MacKinnon said Friday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

MacKinnon, speaking at a funding announcement in Gatineau, Que., added that the group tiring of Poilievre\u2019s \u201cobstructionist\u201d approach is \u201csizable\u201d but wouldn\u2019t speculate on whether any more of them will cross the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are incredibly hard choices for those people to\u00a0make,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly personal and, in many cases, disruptive decision that a person has to make after, in some cases, spending decades or years of active involvement in the Conservative party. But they don\u2019t like the turn. There are lots of Conservatives, I do assure you, who do not like this Poilievre approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:42
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOther Conservatives \u201cextremely frustrated\u201d with Poilievre, Liberal House leader says\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Ma announced Thursday night that he was joining the Liberal caucus,<\/a> becoming the second MP to cross from the Conservatives since Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s election victory in April. The defection puts the Liberals one seat away from a functional majority.<\/p>\n

Later that evening at the Liberal holiday party in Gatineau, Carney introduced and welcomed Ma, along with the other recent former Conservative floor crosser, Chris d\u2019Entremont, as the party\u2019s newest members.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are going to have a much better time spending Christmas with us than with the Kranks,\u201d Carney said.<\/p>\n

Poilievre said Thursday night<\/a> that Ma \u201cchose to endorse the very policies he was elected to oppose\u201d and will \u201chave to answer\u201d to his constituents.<\/p>\n

MacKinnon on Friday said Ma is doing exactly that.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many, many Conservatives in that caucus who have to go home and talk to their chambers of commerce and talk to some of their supporters and talk to people who like what this government is doing, who like our focus on the economy, who like our ability and our desire to get big things done,\u201d he said. \u201cMr. Ma is in that group. That is a sizable group in their caucus.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"For<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Ma is a very upstanding and distinguished Canadian who wants to be part of the solution, not part of this obstruction (and) silly games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3:19
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCarney welcomes ex-Conservative MP Michael Ma to Liberal Party\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

MacKinnon took further aim at Poilievre by comparing the just-completed fall session of Parliament with the spring session, which Poilievre missed after losing his longtime Ottawa riding in the federal election, forcing him to run in an Alberta byelection.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Conservative MPs) tell us how much they enjoyed the spring session,\u201d MacKinnon said. \u201cIronically, Mr. Poilievre was not a part of the House of Commons during that session, where we passed \u2014 and they voted for \u2014 big transformative legislation.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThey realize, like we do, that we\u2019re in a trade war and that serious solutions are required, and they are required every day to go through this charade of obstruction. And you see it, you know, repeating the same question 40 times in the House of Commons every day. That is a soul-destroying experience for many Conservative members of Parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ma voted with Conservatives during the spring session to pass the Liberals\u2019 cornerstone infrastructure bill, which created the new Major Projects Office, as well as legislation to remove federal interprovincial trade barriers.<\/p>\n

During the fall, he voted against the government budget as well as for Poilievre\u2019s West Coast pipeline motion that used language from the Alberta-Ottawa energy memorandum.<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:54
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Cheap political stunt\u2019: Liberals vote against Poilievre\u2019s pipeline motion\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

MacKinnon said the disgruntled group of Conservative MPs are \u201cunfortunately\u201d still a minority within the caucus.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tFor 1st time since trade war, Canada exported more than it imported\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMailing in your taxes? CRA says changes are coming amid push to digital\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of the Conservative caucus want to follow this leader, to appeal to the base, to prop up his leadership and to win their leadership review in January,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we can only hope that some of this goes away after that review.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poilievre has doubled down on his approach<\/a> as Opposition leader and has indicated he has no plans to change course<\/a> despite the recent caucus defections, as well as recent polling from Ipsos and Angus Reid that shows him around 20 points behind Carney<\/a> while the Liberals and Conservatives are effectively tied in popularity.<\/a><\/p>\n

A third Conservative MP, Matt Jeneroux, announced he was resigning<\/a> shortly after d\u2019Entremont crossed the floor in November. He has not indicated whether he plans to join a different party.<\/p>\n

Asked Thursday if he was confident he\u2019ll get a positive result in the leadership review next month, Poilievre replied, \u201cVery, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Angus Reid Institute poll released Friday<\/a> found the number of recent Conservative voters who want Poilievre to stay on as leader has fallen from 68 per cent to 58 per cent since August, while those who want him replaced has risen from 18 per cent to 26 per cent.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:51
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPoilievre says he\u2019s not reflecting, after losing two caucus members last week\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Ma\u2019s move means the Liberals now have 171 seats in the House of Commons, including Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia. If the caucus gains one more member, it will create a functional majority government for Carney, with Scarpaleggia available to break tied votes if all opposition parties vote against legislation and motions.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

If two more MPs defect to the Liberals, they won\u2019t need the Speaker\u2019s tie-breaking vote.<\/p>\n

MacKinnon said he \u201ccan\u2019t and won\u2019t speculate\u201d on whether more MPs will cross the floor, and wouldn\u2019t say if Liberals are actively seeking defections to create a majority.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did not create the situation where Conservatives are frustrated with the direction that their leadership has ordered them to take,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to build big things. We want to unify our economy. We want to develop our supply chains from east to west and put Canadians and young people to work, doing all of that. That is, we think, an appealing vision, and obviously we have the door wide open to all those who want to join us in executing on our commitments to Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative MPs, meanwhile, made their displeasure with Ma known Friday.<\/p>\n

Ontario MP Kurt Holman posted on X<\/a> that he was Ma\u2019s secret Santa and gifted him an Amazon Fire Stick \u201cjust hours before he crossed the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I want my gift back, just like the people of Markham\u2014Unionville want their votes back!\u201d he posted.<\/p>\n

\u2014 with files from Alessia Simona Maratta and Alex Boutilier<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Politics
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The addition of ex-Conservative MP Michael Ma to the Liberal caucus is further proof that some members of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,149654,44,18277,714],"class_list":["post-342497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-michael-ma","tag-news","tag-pierre-poilievre","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}