Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has had discussions with floor-crossing ex-Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu about the “core values” of the Liberal Party, adding that she will “vote with the government” on any proposals around abortion and LGBTQ rights.
Gladu crossed the floor to the Liberals Wednesday, becoming the latest to switch over to the government caucus and bringing Carney just one seat away from a functional majority.
But her floor-crossing also spurred controversy because of her social conservative views and voting history.
While running for the Conservative leadership in 2020 against Erin O’Toole, Gladu said she would allow caucus members to bring forward private members bills to restrict abortion, saying it would allow for “healthy discussion.”
“I had discussions, and colleagues had discussions, with Ms. Gladu about those issues. She will vote with the government if there are votes relating to any aspect of that issue as well as the rights of Canadians to be their whole selves, to love who they love, and to fully enjoy their rights under the Charters of Rights and Freedoms,” Carney told reporters after being asked specifically on Gladu’s stance on abortion.
Carney said the Liberals will continue to stand by their values, such as “defending the right of women to choose, defending same sex marriage, (opposing) anti-conversion therapy.”
“We have those core values. Those values don’t change,” he added.
The decision to welcome Gladu into the Liberal fold was in part due to her “two decades of business experience,” Carney said.
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“She’s an engineer. She’s an experienced parliamentarian. She is someone who works well with other people, including across the aisle,” he said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gladu was criticized by then-Conservative leader Erin O’Toole for downplaying the severity of the virus and the safety of vaccines in an interview. Gladu later apologized.
Gladu also appeared to promote unproven treatments for COVID-19 and pushed for workplaces to reopen at the height of the pandemic in comments she later said were taken out of context.
In 2018, Gladu also sparked an angry response from the Mexican government when she implied that many Mexican visitors to Canada are involved in the illegal drug trade.
That statement came during debate over legislation that ultimately made marijuana legal across Canada, a policy Gladu opposed.
In 2021, Gladu was one of 62 Conservative MPs who voted against legislation outlawing conversion therapy, a discredited practice that has been used on LGBTQ Canadians.
With the Liberal government teetering on the edge of a majority, Carney was asked if Canadians could expect more floor crossings in the weekend leading up to a crucial byelection on Monday.
The Liberal policy convention is also taking place in Montreal this weekend.
“I’m often the last to know,” Carney said.
Gladu’s crossing to the Liberals puts the governing party at 171 seats in the House of Commons — just one seat shy of a functional majority.
That would require House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia to break ties when voting on legislation and motions.
Although Scarpaleggia is a Liberal MP, precedent is that Speakers vote to maintain the status quo: in practice, that means voting to allow bills to continue through the House of Commons from first reading through to committee introduction, and then against the bill when it comes to a third reading vote before moving to the Senate.
If the Liberals get 173 seats, that would secure a slim but “full” majority government that does not rely on the Speaker breaking ties.
Byelections are set to be held in three ridings Monday, including Terrebonne, the Quebec riding where last year’s election was called for the Liberal candidate by one vote.
— With files from Global’s Sean Boynton
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