Liberal House Leader MacKinnon Says He Thinks ‘There Are Others’ Considering Defecting From Tories

Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon says he is aware of other Conservative MPs who may consider crossing the floor as they share the views of Michael Ma, who defected to the Liberals on Dec. 11.

MacKinnon told reporters on Dec. 12 there’s a minority of Tory MPs who are “frustrated” with the party leadership, while acknowledging a “majority” of the Tory caucus want Poilievre to remain as leader.

On Dec. 11, Toronto-area MP Michael Ma announced he had left the Conservative caucus to join the Liberal Party. The MP for Markham-Unionville said he made the decision after reflecting with his family and those in his riding on “the direction of our country,” adding that he became a politician to “focus on solutions, not division.”

MacKinnon said “there are others like Mr. Ma, who I know share the kind of view that I just described.”

MacKinnon did not name any of the Tory MPs who he said have expressed concerns with the party’s leadership. When asked if the Liberals would soon have a majority government after a prospective third floor crossing, MacKinnon said he would not “speculate on that,” and that decisions to floor-cross are “are intensely personal choices.”

Conservative Leader Poilievre responded to Ma’s announcement on X that he had been elected to “fight against Liberal inflationary spending driving up the cost of living in his community,” and had chosen to “endorse the very policies he was elected to oppose.”

“The people he let down the most are the ones who elected him to fight for an affordable future. He will have to answer to them,” Poilievre said.

An Angus Reid poll released Dec. 11 found a majority (58 percent) of recent Conservative voters want Poilievre to lead the party into the next election.

The Conservative Party’s 2026 national convention in Calgary on Jan. 29 to 31 will include a leadership review, which is required by the party 12 months after an election. 

With Ma’s floor crossing, the Liberal Party now has 171 seats, which is one away from a majority government.

Ma’s decision to cross the floor comes after Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont announced he was leaving the Conservatives to join the Liberals on Nov. 4, the same day the Liberal government tabled its federal budget. 

Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux announced two days after d’Entremont that he would be resigning from Parliament, adding that it was due to a desire to  focus on his family. Jeneroux’s announcement came while rumours swirled about him contemplating crossing the floor to join the Liberals. While Jeneroux denied this, he has abstained from voting with the Tories on key bills in Parliament since his announcement.

During the Liberals’ holiday party on Dec. 11, Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed Ma onto the stage, to applause from the attendees. The prime minister then joked that there could be more floor crossers soon.

“We welcomed over 300,000, and one, new Liberals,” he said. “The year’s not over. That’s all I’m saying.”

Ma had attended the Conservative Christmas party the previous day.