A federal minister dropped hints about more floor crossings Monday following the defection of Ontario MP Michael Ma to the Liberals last week.
When asked whether more opposition MPs are getting ready to cross the floor to join the government, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said people have reached out.
“Let’s say I’m getting lots of inquiries,” Hodgson told a Toronto press conference.
Ma’s decision to leave the Conservative caucus and join the Liberals — less than 24 hours after attending the Official Opposition’s Christmas party — brought the government to within one seat of a majority on Thursday.
Hodgson wouldn’t comment on any role he played personally in courting Ma, whose Markham-Unionville riding north of Toronto is next door to his own riding of Markham-Thornhill.
“Our prime minister is a former businessman and a pragmatist. I’m a former businessman and a pragmatist. Michael Ma is a former businessman and a pragmatist,” Hodgson said when asked if he had reached out to Ma.
“We all share a view that it is a time to unite, not to divide. And I’ll let Michael speak for himself.”
Ma was first elected in April, winning the Greater Toronto Area riding of Markham—Unionville by about 1,900 votes.
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The Canadian Press has requested an interview with Ma but has not received a reply.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told The Canadian Press last week he believes Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to secure a majority government through backroom deals.
“I think the prime minister should stop trying to manipulate a majority that Canadians denied him in democratic elections. The vast majority of Canadians voted against his costly agenda of higher debt, taxes and inflation,” he said Friday.
Poilievre added that voters only gave the Liberals a minority government in the April election and “the will of the Canadian people” should be “respected.”
With Ma, Carney’s Liberals now have 171 seats, one shy of the 172 needed for a majority. To pass legislation and survive any confidence votes currently, they would need two opposition members to abstain, or one to vote with the government.
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said Friday a small number of Conservative MPs are sharing their frustrations about their party’s political direction with Liberal MPs.
Jamie Ellerton, principal at Conaptus and a Conservative strategist, compared MacKinnon’s comments to setting “a cat among the pigeons” at a time when there is a sense of betrayal among Conservative MPs.
Several Conservative MPs shared their shock at Ma’s departure on social media, noting he had criticized the Liberal government recently and posed for a photo with Poilievre at the Wednesday Christmas party.
Poilievre will face a mandatory leadership review at the Conservative convention in Calgary next month. Despite losing two MPs to the Liberals this fall, Poilievre said he remains confident party members will continue to endorse his leadership.
“(The Conservative Party) is not run by backroom wheeling and dealing on Parliament Hill. Our party members want someone who will stand up and fight for affordable homes, affordable food, and for Canadians to afford to have hope again. And I am that leader,” Poilievre said.
—With files from Sarah Ritchie
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