Poilievre says Jeneroux ‘betrayed’ his constituents

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In a move Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling a betrayal, Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux is joining the Liberal caucus.

“Matt, welcome to the government team,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, sitting down with Jeneroux for a press conference in Edmonton.

The two did not take questions from journalists.

“It’s a great honour to be on the same team as you at a crucial time for this city, for this province, for this country,” Carney also said.

Carney announced the floor crossing in a social media post Wednesday morning.

Jeneroux told reporters it was Carney’s widely lauded speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month that convinced him to cross the floor.

“I had announced my resignation back in November, largely due to family reasons,” he said. “But quite simply, I couldn’t sit on the sidelines after seeing what prime minister’s ambitious agenda he was undertaking across the country, and across the world.”

Jeneroux is the third Conservative MP to cross the floor in as many months, joining Chris d’Entremont in November and Michael Ma in December.

After d’Entremont joined the Liberals — just hours after they tabled the federal budget — there was speculation Jeneroux was planning to follow suit.

Instead, Jeneroux announced he would be stepping down entirely as an MP, though as of February, he has yet to officially do so.

• IN PICTURES: Canadian politicians who crossed the floor or left their party

“After further reflection with my family, and conversations with colleagues and constituents, I will be continuing to serve in Parliament — and I will be working with Prime Minister Mark Carney as part of his new government to help build our country’s strength as we face the challenges ahead,” Jeneroux wrote in a social media post Wednesday.

Also in a post to social media on Wednesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Jeneroux of betraying his constituents.

“Mark Carney is trying to seize a costly Liberal majority government that Canadians voted against in the last election through dirty backroom deals,” he wrote. “Matt Jeneroux has betrayed the people of Edmonton Riverbend who voted for affordable food and homes, safe streets, and a strong resource sector.”

In a press conference on Parliament Hill Tuesday, Poilievre was asked how he felt about the state of his caucus.

“Overall, I think we have a great team,” he said.

As speculation ramped up around Parliament Hill in November over his potential floor crossing, a source close to Jeneroux told CTV News that Conservative Party officials made it known to him that there would be consequences if he did so.

In a statement posted to social media at the time, Jeneroux pushed back against claims there were threats made against him.

“I want to be clear that there was no coercion involved in my decision to resign,” Jeneroux wrote, adding that he had a “great conversation” with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and emphasized that his decision to step down solely reflects his “desire to spend more time with my family.”

Liberals still 3 seats shy of a majority

While three Conservative MPs have now joined the Liberal benches, the latter are no closer to a majority government than they were immediately after the April election.

Former Trudeau-era cabinet minister Bill Blair resigned his seat in the House of Commons after he was appointed as Canada’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland also announced her resignation to take on an economic adviser position for the Ukrainian government.

And, the Supreme Court last week invalidated the federal election result in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne, where Liberal MP Tatiana Auguste had won by a single vote. That riding will be headed for a byelection.

Carney gives Jeneroux special advisor role

Also in his social media post Wednesday, Carney wrote that Jeneroux will be taking on the role of “special advisor on economic and security partnerships.”

“Matt’s leadership will contribute to strengthening Canada’s alliances and trade partnerships, advancing Canada’s leadership in global security cooperation, and building our strength at home,” Carney wrote.

Jeneroux served as an Alberta MLA from 2012 to 2015, before he moved into federal politics, first elected as a Conservative MP in 2015.

Canadians evenly split on floor crossers

Canadians are virtually evenly split, meanwhile, on how they believe MPs hoping to cross the floor should handle it, according to Nanos Research data from earlier this month.

According to the numbers, a third of Canadians — 33 per cent — believe MPs planning to cross the floor should resign their seat and trigger a byelection, running on the mandate of the party they hope to join.

Roughly the same number of respondents — 32 per cent — believe MPs who want to change parties should be able to do so. And, another third — 31 per cent — say would-be defecting MPs should sit as Independents until the next general election.

With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha