{"id":528391,"date":"2026-03-11T05:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T05:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/528391\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T05:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T05:19:13","slug":"ndp-mp-lori-idlout-crosses-floor-to-liberals-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/528391\/","title":{"rendered":"NDP MP Lori\u00a0Idlout crosses floor to Liberals – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NDP Interim Leader, Don Davies, says Nunavut MP Lori Idlout has left the party to sit with the Liberals<\/a>, bringing Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a>\u2018s government closer to a majority.<\/p>\n

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Her departure follows the recent defection of three Conservative MPs in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very disappointed,\u201d Davies said in a statement issued late Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe position of the New Democrats on floor crossing is long-standing and clear. We believe that when someone rejects the decision of their electors and wants to join another party, they should put that decision to their voters,\u201d Davies said.<\/p>\n

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Idlout and Carney have yet to confirm she is joining the Liberals. The move leaves the NDP with six seats in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n

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B.C. Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed welcomed Idlout to the Liberal fold in a post on X Tuesday night and said he looks forward to working with her.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the team, @LoriIdlout<\/a>!
Looking forward to working with you.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Taleeb Noormohamed \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@Taleeb) March 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Idlout is the fourth MP to join the party from the opposition benches since October, following former Conservatives Chris D\u2019Entremont, Michael Ma and Matt Jeneroux.<\/p>\n

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This latest floor crossing could help give the Carney government a majority, as the Liberals now need to win two of three April 13 byelections to have a narrow majority.<\/p>\n

In this scenario, the government would still likely need at least one opposition MP to help pass legislation as Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia, a\u00a0Quebec\u00a0Liberal, does not vote unless there is a tie.<\/p>\n

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Idlout\u00a0has represented Nunavut in the House of Commons since 2021, and just appeared at an Avi Lewis NDP leadership campaign event in Ottawa last Thursday.<\/p>\n

The most recent floor crossing was when ex-Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux<\/a> joined the Liberals in February. Carney said he was honoured to welcome him as the party\u2019s newest member.<\/p>\n

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\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\tWhere does Edmonton MP\u2019s defection to Liberals leave Conservatives, Poilievre?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

In a letter posted to social media, Jeneroux said he came to his decision after \u201cseveral conversations around the dinner table\u201d with his family since he announced his resignation in November as the MP for Edmonton Riverbend.<\/p>\n

Jeneroux later told reporters that he could no longer \u201csit on the sidelines\u201d as Carney pursues an \u201cambitious agenda\u201d at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite honestly, it was the speech in Davos where (he) took everything head-on, and I think for me that\u2019s where a lot of the world changed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think it opened a lot eyes for Canadians, Albertans, Edmontonians, just how serious this national unity crisis truly is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney appointed Jeneroux as \u201ca special advisor on economic and security partnerships\u201d and said he would be relying on his international affairs experience, including as co-founder of the Canada-ASEAN Parliamentary Friendship Group.<\/p>\n

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\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\tLeBlanc tells Poilievre to \u2018look in the mirror\u2019 as ex-Conservative MP crosses floor to Liberals\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Poilievre responded by saying Jeneroux had \u201cbetrayed\u201d his constituents and accusing Carney of \u201ctrying to seize a costly Liberal majority government that Canadians voted against in the last election through dirty backroom deals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canadians want floor-crossing MPs to face \u2018immediate\u2019 byelections<\/p>\n

A recent Ipsos poll<\/a> conducted exclusively for Global News found that a\u00a0majority of Canadians say members of Parliament should not be allowed to cross the floor to another party<\/a> and should face an \u201cimmediate\u201d byelection if they do so, a new poll suggests.<\/p>\n

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The poll found 62 per cent of Canadians surveyed believe MPs should not be allowed to switch parties after an election, while nearly 70 per cent said crossing the floor should trigger an immediate byelection in the MP\u2019s district.<\/p>\n

It also found that Canadians\u2019 displeasure with floor-crossing MPs has not hurt the overall approval for Prime Minister Mark Carney or his Liberal government.<\/p>\n

In fact, those approval numbers have gone up since last year, with over one-third of Canadians saying they are even more supportive of Carney after three MPs left the Conservatives to join the Liberals in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u2013with files from the Canadian Press and Sean Boynton<\/a><\/p>\n

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\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\tJeneroux says \u2018couldn\u2019t sit on the sidelines\u2019 after Carney\u2019s Davos speech\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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