OTTAWA — Nunavut MP Lori Idlout is crossing the floor to join the Liberals.
Interim NDP Leader Don Davies announced Idlout’s move in a news release the party issued Tuesday shortly before 9:45 p.m., saying they were “very disappointed” in her decision.
“The position of the New Democrats on floor crossing is longstanding and clear. We believe that when someone rejects the decision of their electors and wants to join another party, they should put that decision to their voters,” Davies said in a statement.
Idlout, first elected back in 2021, is the fourth MP that has crossed the floor in recent months to join Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government. The first three — Chris d’Entremont, Michael Ma and Matt Jeneroux — all joined from the Conservatives.
Idlout now following suit now places Carney within striking distance of securing a majority government.
Her joining the Liberal caucus places the party at 170 seats in the House of Commons, just two shy of a majority.
But with three upcoming byelection races, two of which to be held in Toronto seats considered strongholds for the Liberals, Carney’s path to achieving a majority government seemed all but inevitable by Tuesday evening.
The third byelection, set for a Quebec riding, is expected to be more of a race with the Bloc
Québécois
, after the riding’s results were recently voided by the Supreme Court of Canada. All three byelection races have been called for April.
Idlout’s decision comes on the eve of a trip Carney is set to take to the Arctic this week, as he places bolstering Canada’s Artic sovereignty and defence as a priority of his government’s in the face of economic and other threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
His government recently announced millions in funding for Inuit programs and plans to put $50 billion from the government’s 2025 budget towards developing the country’s first Inuit-led university.
Back in January, Idlout told CBC North that she had been approached about joining the Liberals by both constituents and those involved with the party, saying at the time that the prospect of doing so “weighed heavily on me,” but had concluded that “at this point that I can’t.”
The next month
that conversations about her crossing the floor were still coming up, saying at the time that she would explain to those within the territory who raised her doing so that she would more effectively be able to push for housing and other supports as an opposition MP.
She also said that she took issue with the Carney’s government’s decision to legislate the fast-tracking of approvals for major infrastructure projects, saying it “disrespected” Indigenous rights.
Idlout’s move lands a massive blow to the federal NDP, which her departure are now down to a caucus of just six.
Her decision to leave the party comes just says after she endorsed filmmaker and activist Avi Lewis for NDP leader, with the party set to hold its leadership convention later this month.
National Post
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