Power by defection

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney now has a majority in parliament after a rush of elections and five lawmakers switched to his party.

GLADU: I’m very happy to be the newest member of our new Liberal government.

Marilyn Gladu, an Ontario MP, is the latest Conservative to join Carney’s Liberal Party. She says Carney is the global leader Canada needs to address uncertainties from American tariffs and make her country more resilient.

GLADU: He’s invited me to bring my experience, my talents, and my views into the large Liberal tent. And I think that will have a better effect inside than it will outside.

Her former party is known for trying to balance budgets and build Canada’s energy infrastructure.

The Liberal Party usually implements social programs like universal healthcare and pro-LGBT policies.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Party-switching has happened before but this latest series of defections to the Liberal Party has shocked many people.

COPELAND: There are a lot of questions about the sincerity and motivations for the MPs who did this.

Peter Copeland is deputy director of domestic policy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a nonpartisan Canadian think tank.

COPELAND: From evidence, you know, cited in media that there were fairly aggressive lobbying tactics by the Liberal Party and staff to court floor crossers.

Copeland says some defectors like Gladu had been known as the more conservative members within the Conservative Party. He also says some Conservative Party lawmakers have found the governing style of party leader Pierre Poilievre too aggressive.

In April, the Liberal Party won three federal by-elections. Now it holds 174 of 343 seats in the House of Commons. That gives the Liberal Party enough of a majority to pass legislation without the support of opposition parties. 

A report released by Canada-based Nanos Research early last month found Canadians’ top three concerns are the economy, inflation, and Canada’s relation with the U.S. 

Carney addressed affordability as one of his priorities during a recent video message:

CARNEY: So we know that Canadians need a boost today and a bridge to tomorrow. That’s why as we build a stronger economy, we’re focused on lowering costs for Canadians.

BROWN: His government has cut various taxes, including suspending the federal tax on gas and diesel until early September… to help citizens cope with rising fuel costs from the Iran war. 

Brian Dijkema, President of the Christian think tank Cardus in Canada, has other concerns:

DIJKEMA: Canada has a euthanasia regime... and we've seen that go out of control... under the Trudeau regime and unchallenged in many cases. And so Mr. Carney has the opportunity to put a halt to that.

Dijkema is referring to the federal government’s plan to expand the assisted suicide program in March next year. It would extend eligibility to people whose only underlying condition is mental illness. He believes Carney, who is a practicing Catholic, should stop the expansion.

DIJKEMA: Because it would save, you know, thousands of lives. And it would be a step in the direction of a government that actually protects the vulnerable, rather than just sees them as something to jettison or something to kill.

EICHER: Meanwhile, Carney has sought deals with other countries to diversify Canada’s trade and investments. That includes China.

Copeland is among the Canadians who are wary about their country developing a strategic partnership with China.

COPELAND: It's well documented the extent of the hybrid warfare activities that that China carries out, you know, on on Canadian soil.

According to Canada’s intelligence agency, China is a main perpetrator of foreign interference and espionage against Canada.

As for Canada-U.S. relations, Carney has stressed that Canada needs to decrease dependence on its southern neighbor.

CARNEY: U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.

Carney says U.S. tariffs on Canadian autos, steel, and lumber have particularly hurt the workers in those industries.

While Canada-U.S. relations are at a low, Copeland maintains a big-picture view.

COPELAND: But ultimately I think, you know, we need to double down on our our efforts to shore up that relationship, because it's a permanent relationship that will outlast a single administration.

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