From Pro-Life Conservative to Liberal MP: The Unlikely Political Journey of Marilyn Gladu

News Analysis

Speculation that more MPs could be crossing the floor to join the Liberals amid the trickle of recent months has been rife, but the latest defection came from an unexpected corner.

Long-time Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu announced on April 8 she is joining the Liberal caucus. She became the fourth Conservative MP to defect since November, but is arguably the most right-leaning among them.

Gladu has previously declared herself to be pro-life and took stances more aligned with the social conservative side of the Tory Party.

Gladu backed the Freedom Convoy protest against COVID mandates in 2022, something now-Prime Minister Mark Carney called a “sedition” at the time.

More recently, and also related to the trucker protest, Gladu criticized the federal government for appealing the ruling of the Federal Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. The appeals court upheld the Federal Court’s finding that the Trudeau government’s use of the Emergencies Act in 2022 to dismantle the Freedom Convoy protest was unjustified.

“There are far better uses for taxpayer dollars than to pay lawyers to defend their choice to illegally suspend the rights of Canadians,” Gladu said in a statement to media in mid-March.

The MP for Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong also called Ottawa’s buyback program of newly designated prohibited firearms an “overreach” that won’t stop gun crime, and commended the Sarnia Police Service for not taking part.

On the subject of MP defections, Gladu suggested in January that she wasn’t comfortable with some of her colleagues crossing to the Liberal caucus—the same path she has now taken herself. She has also cheered those who rejected Liberal offers to cross the floor.

Chris d’Entremont from Nova Scotia was the first to cross the floor in November 2025 around budget time. Michael Ma from Toronto followed in December, while Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux defected in February.

In her statement explaining her decision to join the Liberals, Gladu said she had “clearly” heard from her constituents that they want “serious leadership and a real plan to build a stronger and more independent Canadian economy.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Gladu for comment but didn’t hear back by publication time.

In his statement announcing the defection, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Gladu will bring the “practical, results-driven leadership” needed to build Canada’s economy.

Social Conservative Issues

Gladu is entering a caucus that is generally hostile to the type of views she holds, including on abortion.

In 2014, then-Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau established the rule that every new Liberal candidate would have to vote “pro-choice,” whereas sitting MPs would be “grandfathered.”

The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, on its tally documenting the stances of MPs on the issue of abortion, notes that all Liberal MPs are required to vote pro-choice regardless of their personal beliefs.

The debate on abortion is not about to be re-opened, but it still surfaces around votes and as a wedge issue.

Gladu previously declared her pro-life stance after she announced her candidacy for the Conservative leadership in 2020, before suspending her campaign.

At the time she told CTV’s Evan Solomon, who is now a Carney cabinet minister, that she’s “personally pro-life” while adding that abortion services are needed since a majority of Canadians want access to them.

The Abortion Rights Coalition calls Gladu’s stance on abortion “anti-choice,” but says that doesn’t make her a darling of the pro-life movement.

Pro-life group Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), which similarly tracks MPs’ stance and record on abortion and other social issues, ranks Gladu as “not supportable.”

The coalition noted her pro-life stance while supporting abortion services, as well as comments supportive of same-sex marriage and the LGBT community. Solomon asked Gladu in 2020 whether she would walk in a Pride parade and she said she would. “It’s important that every part of the community is made to feel loved and accepted,” she said.

Nonetheless, the CLC noted in an April 8 statement that Gladu’s general stances on pro-life issues could signal that the Liberals are becoming more accepting of Canadians who oppose on-demand abortion.

Reactions

Gladu was first elected as an MP in 2015. She comfortably won the new riding of Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong in 2025 with 53.1 percent of the vote. The Liberal candidate placed second with 37.9 percent.

With Gladu’s defection, the Liberals now have 171 seats in the House of Commons, one shy of a majority. Three byelections in Ontario and Quebec will take place on April 13, two of which are in safe Liberal ridings. The Liberals are likely to at least reach 173 seats, which would allow them to win House votes without requiring a tie-breaking vote from House Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia, who is a Liberal.

Gladu’s defection quickly drew reactions from former colleagues, who pointed to her previous stances on social issues.

“Does Liberal caucus still have a vaccine mandate? Asking for a friend,” Conservative MP Adam Chambers said in an April 8 X post.

In November 2021, shortly after Ottawa imposed vaccine mandates, Gladu was involved in efforts to form a group within the Conservative caucus to address concerns related to the issue.

Gladu has been vocal on other more recent social controversies, such as the Liberal government’s hate crime legislation Bill C-9. The bill, which cleared the House of Commons on March 25, would remove the religious defence to hate speech in the Criminal Code.

The Conservatives say the bill will jeopardize freedom of expression and religion, whereas the Liberals say those rights are protected by the Charter.

Tory MP Garnett Genuis pointed to recent comments Gladu made to Green Party Leader Elizabeth May during House debates on Bill C-9.

“Is [May] aware there are current Liberal MPs sitting on the benches who think I should be in prison for quoting scriptures as a youth leader,” Gladu said on March 23.

Genuis said it’s “striking” that Gladu is “willing to sit in the same caucus with people who she says think she should be in prison.”

The comments from the two MPs appear to make a reference to what Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller said about removing the religious defence to hate speech in the Criminal Code. While chairing the justice committee in December, before he was appointed minister, Miller called certain passages of the Bible “hateful” towards homosexuals and said they shouldn’t be used as a defence against hate speech.

“There should perhaps be discretion for prosecutors to press charges,” he said.

Gladu has advocated for Christianity in the House of Commons, tabling a private member’s bill in the previous Parliament to declare the month of December as “Christian Heritage Month.” Bill C-369 never made it past first reading and died on the order paper with Parliament was prorogued in early 2025.

Gladu’s floor-crossing also drew surprised reactions from the Liberal side.

“If Mark Carney can attract the likes of very ‘Blue Tories’ like Marilyn Gladu into the Liberal fold, then every Conservative MP is on the table,” commented Andrew Perez, a public affairs strategist who has volunteered on several provincial and federal Liberal Party campaigns.

“I find the Gladu defection to be nothing short of stunning!” he said on X.