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Four floor crossings and three byelection wins gave the Liberals a House majority. Polling shows 74% of Canadians think crossing MPs should face a byelection. Here is the full timeline.
Between November 2025 and April 2026, four Conservative MPs crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus. Combined with three byelection victories, these crossings gave the Liberals a working majority in the House of Commons — without a general election. An Angus Reid poll found 74% of Canadians believe floor-crossing MPs should be required to run in a byelection.
The Liberal minority government won the 2025 general election with 158 seats — 14 short of the 172 needed for a majority. Within six months, a combination of floor crossings and byelection wins closed that gap.
November 4, 2025: Conservative MP Chris d'Entremont (Acadie–Annapolis, NS) crosses the floor to the Liberals on budget day, citing disagreements with Conservative leadership.
December 11, 2025: Conservative MP Michael Ma (Markham–Unionville, ON) crosses the floor, nine days after a House speech in which he called the Liberals "team feudalism."
February 18, 2026: Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux (Edmonton Riverbend, AB) crosses the floor — three months after publicly announcing he was resigning his seat citing family.
April 8, 2026: Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton, ON) crosses the floor — three months after going on the record supporting automatic byelections for MPs who switch parties.
In between, the Liberals won three byelections in previously opposition-held ridings, bringing their total to 172 — exactly the number needed for a majority.
An Angus Reid Institute poll conducted April 10-12, 2026, found that 74% of Canadians believe an MP who crosses the floor should be required to resign and run in a byelection under their new party banner.
Only 26% said MPs should be allowed to serve out their term after crossing. The sentiment was consistent across party lines: 81% of Conservative voters, 68% of Liberal voters, and 77% of NDP voters supported mandatory byelections.
A separate poll by The Hub found that 62% of respondents in the four affected ridings said they felt their vote had been nullified by the crossing.
Floor crossing is legal in Canada. There is no law or parliamentary rule requiring an MP to seek a new mandate after switching parties. But critics argue the practice undermines the principle that voters elect a party platform, not just an individual.
The issue is complicated by the question of incentives. When an MP crosses to the governing party, they gain access to committee chairs, parliamentary secretary roles, and potential cabinet positions. None of the four crossing MPs have disclosed whether any such roles were discussed before their decision.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has called the crossings a democratic scandal. However, the Conservative Party itself has benefited from floor crossings in the past — most notably when Liberal MP Belinda Stronach crossed to the Conservatives in 2005, and when several Liberal MPs crossed to the Conservatives during the Harper years.
Canada has no recall legislation at the federal level. British Columbia and Alberta have provincial recall laws, but no equivalent exists for Members of Parliament.
Private members' bills requiring byelections after floor crossings have been introduced multiple times — most recently by NDP MP Alistair MacGregor in 2024. None have passed. The governing party of the day has consistently opposed such bills, regardless of which party was in power.
Constitutionally, MPs are considered independent representatives of their constituents, not delegates of their party. The Supreme Court of Canada has never ruled on whether mandatory byelections after floor crossings would be constitutional.
With a majority now secured, the Liberal government can pass legislation without relying on opposition support. This has immediate implications for several contentious bills, including Bill C-22 (the Lawful Access Act) and the upcoming budget implementation act.
The NDP and Bloc Quebecois have both indicated they will reintroduce private members' bills requiring byelections after floor crossings. Whether these bills receive a vote will depend on the order paper and the Speaker's discretion.
Parliament Audit will track any legislation related to floor crossing rules and publish the recorded vote if and when it occurs.
Parliament Audit has published an individual accountability piece on each of the four MPs who crossed the floor. Each is fully sourced.
• Chris d'Entremont (Acadie–Annapolis) — won re-election by 533 votes; lost his Deputy Speaker salary top-up; Democracy Watch filed a formal ethics complaint that the Commissioner declined to investigate. Read: parliamentaudit.ca/news/chris-dentremont-deputy-speaker-ethics-complaint
• Michael Ma (Markham–Unionville) — called the Liberals "team feudalism" in a Hansard speech nine days before joining them; admitted he was "truly a Conservative" the night before crossing. Read: parliamentaudit.ca/news/michael-ma-team-feudalism-then-team-liberal
• Matt Jeneroux (Edmonton Riverbend) — announced his resignation citing family in November 2025 with "no coercion involved," then kept the seat and crossed in February 2026; named Special Advisor to the Prime Minister within weeks. Read: parliamentaudit.ca/news/matt-jeneroux-resigned-then-crossed-floor
• Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton) — went on the record in January 2026 endorsing automatic byelections for floor-crossers ("we deserve a chance to have a redo"), then crossed the floor herself three months later. Sarnia's mayor and the local CPC riding association president have both publicly demanded a byelection. Read: parliamentaudit.ca/news/marilyn-gladu-byelection-pledge-then-floor-cross
The Acadie–Annapolis MP crossed the floor on the morning of the 2025 federal budget, after losing his Deputy Speaker salary top-up. Democracy Watch asked the Ethics Commissioner to investigate whether the lost income was a financial motive. The Commissioner declined.
On December 2, 2025, the Markham–Unionville MP rose in the House to call the Liberals "team asset inflation," "team rentier economy," and "team feudalism." Nine days later, he was one of them. He has admitted he was "truly a Conservative" the night before he crossed.
The Edmonton Riverbend MP said his "focus must turn entirely to my family" when announcing his resignation in November 2025. Fourteen weeks later, he kept his seat and joined the Liberals — getting a Special Advisor role and foreign trips with the Prime Minister within weeks.
About this article
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<article>
<h1>How the Liberals Built a Majority Without Winning One</h1>
<p><em>By Parliament Audit · April 15, 2026 · 6 min read</em></p>
<p><strong>Between November 2025 and April 2026, four Conservative MPs crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus. Combined with three byelection victories, these crossings gave the Liberals a working majority in the House of Commons — without a general election. An Angus Reid poll found 74% of Canadians believe floor-crossing MPs should be required to run in a byelection.</strong></p>
<h2>The Timeline</h2>
<p>The Liberal minority government won the 2025 general election with 158 seats — 14 short of the 172 needed for a majority. Within six months, a combination of floor crossings and byelection wins closed that gap.</p>
<p>November 4, 2025: Conservative MP Chris d'Entremont (Acadie–Annapolis, NS) crosses the floor to the Liberals on budget day, citing disagreements with Conservative leadership.</p>
<p>December 11, 2025: Conservative MP Michael Ma (Markham–Unionville, ON) crosses the floor, nine days after a House speech in which he called the Liberals "team feudalism."</p>
<p>February 18, 2026: Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux (Edmonton Riverbend, AB) crosses the floor — three months after publicly announcing he was resigning his seat citing family.</p>
<p>April 8, 2026: Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton, ON) crosses the floor — three months after going on the record supporting automatic byelections for MPs who switch parties.</p>
<p>In between, the Liberals won three byelections in previously opposition-held ridings, bringing their total to 172 — exactly the number needed for a majority.</p>
<h2>What the Polls Say</h2>
<p>An Angus Reid Institute poll conducted April 10-12, 2026, found that 74% of Canadians believe an MP who crosses the floor should be required to resign and run in a byelection under their new party banner.</p>
<p>Only 26% said MPs should be allowed to serve out their term after crossing. The sentiment was consistent across party lines: 81% of Conservative voters, 68% of Liberal voters, and 77% of NDP voters supported mandatory byelections.</p>
<p>A separate poll by The Hub found that 62% of respondents in the four affected ridings said they felt their vote had been nullified by the crossing.</p>
<h2>The Accountability Question</h2>
<p>Floor crossing is legal in Canada. There is no law or parliamentary rule requiring an MP to seek a new mandate after switching parties. But critics argue the practice undermines the principle that voters elect a party platform, not just an individual.</p>
<p>The issue is complicated by the question of incentives. When an MP crosses to the governing party, they gain access to committee chairs, parliamentary secretary roles, and potential cabinet positions. None of the four crossing MPs have disclosed whether any such roles were discussed before their decision.</p>
<p>Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has called the crossings a democratic scandal. However, the Conservative Party itself has benefited from floor crossings in the past — most notably when Liberal MP Belinda Stronach crossed to the Conservatives in 2005, and when several Liberal MPs crossed to the Conservatives during the Harper years.</p>
<h2>The Legal Framework</h2>
<p>Canada has no recall legislation at the federal level. British Columbia and Alberta have provincial recall laws, but no equivalent exists for Members of Parliament.</p>
<p>Private members' bills requiring byelections after floor crossings have been introduced multiple times — most recently by NDP MP Alistair MacGregor in 2024. None have passed. The governing party of the day has consistently opposed such bills, regardless of which party was in power.</p>
<p>Constitutionally, MPs are considered independent representatives of their constituents, not delegates of their party. The Supreme Court of Canada has never ruled on whether mandatory byelections after floor crossings would be constitutional.</p>
<h2>What This Means Going Forward</h2>
<p>With a majority now secured, the Liberal government can pass legislation without relying on opposition support. This has immediate implications for several contentious bills, including Bill C-22 (the Lawful Access Act) and the upcoming budget implementation act.</p>
<p>The NDP and Bloc Quebecois have both indicated they will reintroduce private members' bills requiring byelections after floor crossings. Whether these bills receive a vote will depend on the order paper and the Speaker's discretion.</p>
<p>Parliament Audit will track any legislation related to floor crossing rules and publish the recorded vote if and when it occurs.</p>
<h2>The Four MPs — Individual Records</h2>
<p>Parliament Audit has published an individual accountability piece on each of the four MPs who crossed the floor. Each is fully sourced.</p>
<p>• Chris d'Entremont (Acadie–Annapolis) — won re-election by 533 votes; lost his Deputy Speaker salary top-up; Democracy Watch filed a formal ethics complaint that the Commissioner declined to investigate. Read: parliamentaudit.ca/news/chris-dentremont-deputy-speaker-ethics-complaint</p>
<p>• Michael Ma (Markham–Unionville) — called the Liberals "team feudalism" in a Hansard speech nine days before joining them; admitted he was "truly a Conservative" the night before crossing. Read: parliamentaudit.ca/news/michael-ma-team-feudalism-then-team-liberal</p>
<p>• Matt Jeneroux (Edmonton Riverbend) — announced his resignation citing family in November 2025 with "no coercion involved," then kept the seat and crossed in February 2026; named Special Advisor to the Prime Minister within weeks. Read: parliamentaudit.ca/news/matt-jeneroux-resigned-then-crossed-floor</p>
<p>• Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton) — went on the record in January 2026 endorsing automatic byelections for floor-crossers ("we deserve a chance to have a redo"), then crossed the floor herself three months later. Sarnia's mayor and the local CPC riding association president have both publicly demanded a byelection. Read: parliamentaudit.ca/news/marilyn-gladu-byelection-pledge-then-floor-cross</p>
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Originally published by <a href="https://parliamentaudit.ca/news/floor-crossing-majority-without-election">Parliament Audit</a>
under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND 4.0</a> license.
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