OTTAWA—Last week, the Conservatives saw yet another Member of Parliament cross the floor to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals. Marilyn Gladu, the Sarnia, Ont.-area MP and—briefly—a former Conservative leadership candidate, was the one who made the move. Gladu, who had previously chastised fellow floor crossers and is someone seen as being a far-right leaning Conservative, was an unexpected departure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilivere’s fold.

In different public comments since exchanging her blue jersey for a red one, Gladu has cited the importance of the times in which we live and what she saw as Carney’s strong leadership skills as the motivation for her move. She offered no critique of her former boss or the party she represented in Parliament for 10 years.

Gladu’s departure elicited a steam of high-octane vitriol from her former Conservative mates, similar to the calling out that Chris d’Entremont received last November when he decided to be the first of four—and maybe counting—MPs to leave Team Poilievre for Team Carney. Poilievre also did not offer restraint in his criticism of Gladu’s motivation and departure.

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