Another Conservative crosses the floor, bringing Liberals 1 MP shy of majority
CBC
Ontario MP Michael Ma announced Thursday that he is leaving the Conservative caucus and joining the Liberals.
The MP said in a statement that he made the decision after listening to his constituents in the riding of Markham-Unionville in the Greater Toronto Area.
"This is a time for unity and decisive action for Canada's future," he wrote.
"In that spirit, I have concluded that Prime Minister Mark Carney is offering the steady, practical approach we need to deliver on the priorities I hear every day while door-knocking in Markham-Unionville."
Ma's move comes just a few weeks after former Conservative Chris d'Entremont also left the Conservatives to join the government benches.
The new addition to the Liberal caucus means Carney is one seat away from a majority government.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre posted on social media shortly after Ma's announcement, saying the MP had gone back on his election promises.
"Michael Ma was elected as a Conservative by the constituents of Markham-Unionville to fight against Liberal inflationary spending driving up the cost of living in his community. Today, he chose to endorse the very policies he was elected to oppose," Poilievre wrote on X.
"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."
Conservative MP Todd Doherty posted a photo on X of Ma and Poilievre, suggesting that the former had attended the Conservative holiday party on Wednesday, the night before his defection.
Ma was elected as an MP for the first time in April. Markham-Unionville had previously been held by Liberal Paul Chiang who was set to run for re-election in the spring — but withdrew from the race over comments he made suggesting that another Conservative candidate could be turned into the Chinese consulate to collect a bounty.
Ma secured just over 50 per cent of the vote in his riding, beating Chiang's replacement, Peter Yuen, by about three percentage points.
Rumours swirled in the days following d'Entremont's defection that more Conservatives would follow the Nova Scotia MP — but none had switched sides until Ma.
There were suggestions that Conservative Matt Jeneroux could also cross the floor, but the Alberta MP abruptly announced in early November that he would be leaving politics altogether. Jeneroux hasn't officially resigned but hasn't voted since his announcement.
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