{"id":594621,"date":"2026-04-10T11:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/594621\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:06:15","slug":"gladu-says-crossing-floor-to-liberals-was-best-thing-for-her-riding-herself-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/594621\/","title":{"rendered":"Gladu says crossing floor to Liberals was \u2018best thing\u2019 for her riding, herself – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marilyn Gladu crossed the floor from the Conservative caucus to join the Liberals because it was the \u201cbest thing\u201d for her riding, the country and herself, the Sarnia MP said Thursday night in Montreal.<\/p>\n

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Gladu stole the opening show at the Liberal national convention after she stunned political circles across the country by unexpectedly crossing the floor from the Tories earlier this week.<\/p>\n

After just a day in her new party, Gladu told reporters in a late-night scrum that she\u2019s \u201csuper excited\u201d to be at her first Liberal confab in\u00a0Quebec, and she\u2019s \u201cproud to be part of the prime minister\u2019s new government\u201d at a \u201ccritical moment for the country.\u201d<\/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\tLiberals kick off convention after latest Tory defection\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The former Conservative MP has come under scrutiny for her history of taking positions that clash with Liberal policy and for her past alignment with the Freedom Convoy and vaccine skeptics. But she showered praise Thursday evening on the Liberals\u2019 economic agenda and pledged to promote the party\u2019s core values.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI will vote with the government, I will protect the rights and freedoms of women to chose, for people to be who they are and love who they love,\u201d she said, and noted she\u2019s \u201cready to support the rights of women in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day \u2014 in a scene carefully orchestrated for TV cameras \u2014 Prime Minister Mark Carney and an entourage of cabinet ministers walked recent Liberal convert Gladu through throngs of party members lined up in the convention hall for selfies and handshakes.<\/p>\n

Little more than a year ago, in the waning days of Justin Trudeau\u2019s leadership, Liberals were gloomily contemplating almost certain electoral defeat at the hands of the Conservatives.<\/p>\n

But as Liberals gathered for their national convention Thursday, the face of the party looked a lot more like it did when Trudeau\u2019s father ran it: a brokerage party made up of people with disparate views.<\/p>\n

That, at least, was the impression prominent Liberals were trying to convey.<\/p>\n

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One day after Gladu left the Conservative benches to join the government side, Liberal House leader Steven MacKinnon told reporters outside the convention hall Thursday the party is \u201cobviously extremely happy to welcome Marilyn\u201d to the fold.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMany people who live in Conservative ridings are responding positively to the kind of policies that Mr. Carney is putting forward, that the Liberal party is proud to put forward,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously, Marilyn is one of those. We know there are others who want to be part of the positive building of the country that we\u2019re undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Supporters were all smiles before the TV cameras, cheering on the fourth ex-Tory to join their ranks.<\/p>\n

Cabinet ministers and party members defended her decision to cross the floor.<\/p>\n

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the \u201cparty of government\u201d should be able to host \u201call perspectives within Parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome Marilyn Gladu with open arms, as I have with Lori Idlout and all the others,\u201d he said, mentioning the former New Democrat who crossed the floor to the Liberals last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we will keep expanding and make sure we\u2019re an open and welcome place for Canadians of all political stripes to join.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health Minister Marjorie Michel said Gladu is welcome under the party\u2019s \u201creal big tent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people are coming to us, I think it\u2019s because we\u2019re more welcoming maybe than others,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Liberal MP Chris D\u2019Entremont, the first of the four former Conservatives to cross the aisle since late last year, said it\u2019s time to \u201cput our political sides aside and actually focus on the things that are important for Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s what you saw in the floor crossings and I think that\u2019s what you\u2019re seeing in the Canadian citizenship where they\u2019re looking across Canada and saying, \u2018That guy\u2019s got a plan that makes sense to me,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bill Kudla, a former supporter of the late NDP leader Jack Layton, ran in 2025 for the Liberals in a New Brunswick riding but was defeated by the Conservative incumbent Rob Moore. He said Canadians should be allowed to change their political views and that now is the time to band together in the face of American aggression.<\/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\tLongtime Conservative Marilyn Gladu crosses floor, Liberals 1 seat shy of majority\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\u201cTo have a stable government for four years while (U.S. President Donald Trump) is in power is extremely important. I\u2019d rather not run again right now in lieu of having a stable government so that we can fight back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The opposition floor crossers have brought a majority government within reach for the Carney Liberals \u2014 though MacKinnon and other cabinet ministers said they did not want to count their chickens before they hatch.<\/p>\n

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The convention kicked off just ahead of three byelections scheduled for Monday, two in Liberal strongholds. The results are expected to grant the Liberals a majority mandate without the need to call a general election.<\/p>\n

The party is also riding high in the polls nationally. Polling aggregator 338Canada has the Liberals at 45 per cent support.<\/p>\n

Zita Astravas, a consultant with Wellington Advocacy and Trudeau\u2019s former director of issues management, said Liberals from across the country are \u201cfeeling pretty good\u201d right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a spring in people\u2019s steps being a Liberal in politics right now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about patting themselves on the back, but momentum and energy are important in a political party,\u201d said Jonathan Kalles, a consultant with McMillan Vantage who formerly served as\u00a0Quebec\u00a0adviser to Trudeau. \u201cRight now the Liberals have it, so it\u2019s an opportune time to get everyone together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney is set to address the convention on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET \u2014 the first time he has done so since winning the leadership.<\/p>\n

Kalles said many at the party level still know little about Carney and the convention offers a way for them to get to know him, and for party brass to check the pulse of the grassroots.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s going to become increasingly important for Carney as the caucus gets more diverse and more challenging to manage, he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWith people that have such diverse points of view and are fairly ideological, that becomes a challenge. Most Liberals may lean one side or the other, but I would say they are not particularly ideological,\u201d Kalles said. \u201cI don\u2019t know that it\u2019s sustainable in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cameron Ahmad, a former director of communications for Trudeau, said five months of floor crossers in Parliament sends \u201ca really strong signal that the party is doing well\u201d and shows the party remains an \u201cinclusive and welcoming place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmad said Carney has re-energized the party and he remembers feeling a similar electricity in the air when Trudeau was first elected leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was such a breath of fresh air into the party and people felt like there was a renewal,\u201d Ahmad said.<\/p>\n

Azam Ishmael, the Liberal party\u2019s national director, boasted Thursday that the party expects a \u201crecord-breaking number\u201d of supporters to attend the convention \u2014 around 4,500 members.<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2026.<\/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\tLongtime Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu crosses floor to Liberals\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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