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Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers his speech at the Liberal Party national convention in Montreal on Saturday.ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP/Getty Images
As many as eight more opposition MPs are being courted to cross the floor, three Liberal sources told The Globe and Mail.
Conservative and NDP MPs are in the mix, the sources said, though it remains unclear if any will make the jump – or when.
The sources are all veteran Liberal organizers, and two are directly involved in reaching out to potential recruits.
The Globe is not identifying them as they were not authorized to disclose internal party operations.
One of the sources said they have a list of five names they are working from, and another of the sources said they are aware of three additional names under discussion.
The sources all said that the efforts to woo the MPs began before the surprising move of Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu on Wednesday.
Her switch to the Liberals was the talk of the party’s convention, which wrapped Saturday in Montreal.
Liberals wonder: what does their newest MP say about their party?
She was the fifth opposition MP to cross the floor since November, and in his speech to the convention Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney referenced the entire group as he spoke of how Canadians are rallying around his agenda of building up Canada at a time of global pressures.
Members of Parliament have switched sides because they understand the importance of what’s at stake, he said, speaking in French.
He did not give any hint of whether more are to come.
Ms. Gladu’s socially conservative past has led to questions about her place within the Liberals, but both she and Mr. Carney have said she’ll vote with the government on social issues.
Ms. Gladu’s move caused political insiders to speculate that her warm reception may give an opening to MPs who thought they’d never have a chance with the Liberals, expanding the pool of willing recruits.
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Former Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu, who crossed the floor to the Liberals on Wednesday, attends the Liberal National Convention on Saturday.ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP/Getty Images
Her decision gave the Liberals 171 of 343 seats in the House of Commons, one shy of a majority.
Three of the 343 seats are vacant, and by-elections are being held on Monday.
The Liberals are expected to win at least two of them, as they are ridings in Toronto that the party has held for years.
That would give them 173 seats in the House and a majority government.
The third by-election is in Terrebonne, a Quebec riding won by the Liberals by a single vote last April.
The Supreme Court later annulled the result.
Terrebonne rematch puts Carney’s popularity to the test
With the outcome of that by-election unclear, two of the sources referred to Ms. Gladu as political insurance – even if the Liberals don’t win Terrebonne, they can still form a majority in the Commons.
Prior to Ms. Gladu, three other Conservatives and one New Democrat crossed the floor.
Different players within the Liberal Party brokered each of the previous floor-crossings. In at least two cases – Ms. Gladu and Ontario MP Michael Ma – cabinet ministers were directly involved.
Two of the sources said the potential new floor-crossers are being approached by those familiar with their parts of the country or their ridings.
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Carney greets a delegate at the Liberal convention in Montreal on Friday.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Whether that’s a strategy that could pay off is unclear. Mr. Carney has suggested that in past cases, it was the opposition MPs who opened the door themselves to joining his party.
“What has been the case in each of these circumstances is that the individuals have come to people they know well in the Liberal caucus and expressed an interest in joining, and then a conversation is evolved from that,” he told reporters last week when asked if more floor-crossers were coming.
“Near the end of the conversation is when I’ve met with those individuals. So, I can’t tell you more than that other than to describe the process.”
The departure of Ms. Gladu is putting pressure on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to prove he has control over his caucus.
Some of his MPs have used social media in recent days to pledge their loyalty, and his wife Anaida Poilievre spoke up in his defence as well.
“We go forward. We keep moving. We keep fighting,” she wrote on social media late Friday.
“Because we believe deeply in what we stand for, with principle and conviction. And let me tell you, my husband has rock solid support at home. This lady is not for turning.”
