The recent defection of longtime Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal caucus — followed swiftly by a string of federal byelection wins that secured a governing majority — has reignited a familiar debate in Canadian politics: the merits and risks of “big tent” political parties.

Gladu’s decision to join the Liberal caucus stunned political Ottawa earlier this month, for it was the most dramatic floor crossing in more than 20 years, when former high-profile Conservative MP Belinda Stronach jolted to Paul Martin’s Liberal caucus in 2005, saving his then minority government from imminent defeat in the House of Commons.

Gladu’s defection is remarkable not merely because it helped Carney’s Liberals secure a coveted majority government, but also because it was least expected. The veteran Conservative MP built a reputation in Ottawa over the past decade as a prominent social conservative who expressed opposition to abortion, vaccine skepticism and support for the trucker convoy — she even initially opposed a bill banning the harmful practice of conversion therapy. 

But Gladu’s defection didn’t come in isolation; the Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong MP followed in the footsteps of four other opposition MPs; three from the Conservative Party one from the NDP. And this is emblematic of a deeper shift underway in Mark Carney’s Ottawa: one that signals a return to a style of........

© National Observer