Prime Minister Mark Carney billed $524K on in-flight catering during first year as PM

Chris Pronger taking cautious approach to Maple Leafs executive opening

WARMINGTON: Head of rival company accused of shooting two GFL executive's homes

Share this Story : Toronto Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

KINSELLA: The Conservative Party's problem isn't floor-crossing – it's leadership

The Tories are in deep trouble and Pierre Poilievre doesn't seem to have a plan to address it

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

Quiz time. Who made these statements?

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.

Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments

Enjoy additional articles per month

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Don't have an account? Create Account

“A politician who crosses the aisle has shown tremendous courage in putting their principles first.”

KINSELLA: The Conservative Party's problem isn't floor-crossing – it's leadership Back to video

“Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, I believe members of Parliament should have that freedom (to cross the floor to another political party) … In my observation, the only parties that really have this as an obsession are the parties that no one ever crosses to.”

And, my personal favorite: “Anyone can rat, but it takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat.”

The first two speakers are former Conservative Party leaders Andrew Scheer and Stephen Harper, respectively. The last quote is attributed to one Winston Churchill, who you may have heard of.

Winston Churchill a human weathervane

The greatest Parliamentarian of all time may or may not have actually uttered those words (and, given that Churchill was possessed of a formidable wit, it’s likely he did). But this much is true: Churchill crossed the floor of the British Parliament more than once. In 1904, from the Conservatives to the Liberals. In 1924, he journeyed back to the Conservatives. In between, he was an anti-socialist independent.

Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond.

There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

Churchill was a human weathervane: he went wherever the political winds took him.

So, to all of you Tories kvetching about the pro-convoy so-con kook Marilyn Gladu leaving the Conservatives to join the Liberals? Take a Valium. Chill out. It happens.

And your party has benefitted from floor-crossing, too.

Leona Alleslev left the Grits to join the Tories, for example. So did David Emerson, and he was rewarded with a cabinet post for doing so.

And, at the provincial level, your team has benefitted from floor-crossers many, many times – including just a couple weeks ago, when a Member of Quebec’s National Assembly jumped from the government to the Conservative Party of Quebec.

Pierre Poilievre says floor-crossing MPs duty-bound to respect voters' wishes

GOLDSTEIN: The shameless hypocrisy of Tory turncoat Marilyn Gladu

EDITORIAL: Carney will get a tainted majority government

So, it’s like former prime minister Harper said: the people who complain about floor-crossing are usually the ones watching the receding backs of a former colleague. Stop your complaining, and focus on the real problem.

Your real problem, to put a fine point on it, is the trim, smiling guy in the front row: Pierre Poilievre.

Under Poilievre, the Conservative Party is losing. Check any poll: the Tories are in deep trouble, and Poilievre doesn’t seem to have a plan to address it.

It’s easy to feel sorry for the guy, however. He’s now – finally – doing what this writer (and others) urged him to do.

He’s smiling more. He’s laughing at himself. He’s offering suggestions, and not always opposition. He’s being constructive. He’s been crystal-clear about his opposition to Donald Trump, including when appearing on the podcast of Trump’s pal, Joe Rogan. He’s making all the right moves – partly on his own initiative, and partly at the urging of his smart communications director Katy Merrifield.

But despite all that, Poilievre isn’t getting any credit from the people who matter most – the voters.

Nanos says that more than twice as many voters favour Liberal Leader Mark Carney over Poilievre. Several pollsters say the Grits are double-digits ahead of the Tories. And, in a seat projection this week by aggregator Polling Canada, an election held today might see Carney win as many as 255 seats – and Poilievre as few as 68.

Mark Carney is more popular than Pierre Poilievre

The problem, then, isn’t floor-crossing – it’s leadership.

Fairly or not – and no one ever said politics is fair – Mark Carney is more popular than Pierre Poilievre. And Conservative caucus members are voting with their feet: four in just the past year.

Will Mark Carney regret turning his big-tent Liberals into a big-tent circus, and welcoming the likes of Marilyn Gladu? I suspect he will. He’ll regret, too, the former NDP Ontario MPP-turned federal Liberal Doly Begum, slated to win a Toronto-area byelection on Monday. Begum once called the Liberals “evil,” while Gladu has said some Liberal MPs “should be in prison.”

How Carney can embrace those two is beyond the understanding of us mere mortals.

But that’s politics. Nobody ever accused any politicians of being consistent or selfless.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Katy Merrifield, who did so much to make Pierre Poilievre look good?

She quit this week, too.

Share this Story : Toronto Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Prime Minister Mark Carney billed $524K on in-flight catering during first year as PM Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney billed $524K on in-flight catering during first year as PM

Chris Pronger taking cautious approach to Maple Leafs executive opening Toronto Maple Leafs

Chris Pronger taking cautious approach to Maple Leafs executive opening

WARMINGTON: Head of rival company accused of shooting two GFL executive's homes Toronto & GTA

WARMINGTON: Head of rival company accused of shooting two GFL executive's homes

SUNshine Girl Ryan Sunshine Girls

SUNshine Girl Angie Sunshine Girls

© Toronto Sun