New Liberal MP Jeneroux defends decision to cross floor, won’t speak ill of Conservatives

Former Conservative Matt Jeneroux will take a seat on the government side for the first time after joining the Liberals. CTV National's Judy Trinh reports.

The newest member of the federal Liberal caucus is standing by his decision and says he wouldn’t speak ill of his former Conservative colleagues, despite their vocal criticism of his floor crossing.

“I have no bad words to say about people on the other side of the aisle,” MP Matt Jeneroux said on his way out of his first-ever national Liberal caucus meeting on Parliament Hill Wednesday. “Many of them are friends, deep friends, and a lot of them continue to text me.”

“I hope that we remain friends,” he added. “But certainly it wasn’t an easy decision to do this, and it was something that I know (there are) some that don’t agree with it.”

Last week, the longtime Conservative MP for Edmonton Riverbend announced he was crossing the floor to the Liberals. He is the third Conservative MP to join the Liberal benches in as many months.

In a social media post, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wrote that Jeneroux “betrayed” his constituents by crossing the floor.

Several other current and former Conservative MPs also took to social media to criticize the move, including MP Frank Caputo, who wrote that Jeneroux will “live with his decisions, character and broken relationships.”

“What do we have beyond our integrity? I’ll sleep fine, staying true to my principles while I continue to fight for my people,” Caputo also wrote.

Responding to the post on X, former Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri wrote that Jeneroux “belongs where he is.”

Asked by reporters whether he believes there will be more floor crossers, Jeneroux wouldn’t say.

Jeneroux travelling with prime minister

When Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Jeneroux was joining his team, he also gave him the unpaid role of “special advisor on economic and security partnerships.” It’s under that moniker that Jeneroux will be joining the prime minister for a nine-day trip to India, Australia and Japan.

Asked about the trip on Wednesday, Jeneroux said Carney has “an aggressive agenda around the world.”

“He’s asked me to help him in supporting that,” he added. “So, that’s absolutely what I’m going to do, and I think we’ll wait and see what comes out of the trip.”