Canadians want floor-crossing MPs to face ‘immediate’ byelections: poll

The Ipsos poll conducted for Global News found Canadians' displeasure with floor-crossing MPs has not hurt the overall approval for Prime Minister Mark Carney or the Liberals.

A majority of Canadians say members of Parliament should not be allowed to cross the floor to another party and should face an “immediate” byelection if they do so, a new poll suggests.

However, Wednesday’s Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found Canadians’ displeasure with floor-crossing MPs has not hurt the overall approval for Prime Minister Mark Carney or his Liberal government.

In fact, those approval numbers have gone up since last year, with over one-third of Canadians saying they are even more supportive of Carney after three MPs left the Conservatives to join the Liberals in recent months.

“They’re prepared to punish the individuals who do it (cross the floor), but not necessarily prepared to hold it against the leaders of the parties that promote it,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs.

“And it has not created a stronger desire for an election.”

The poll was conducted late last month, after Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux became the latest Conservative to cross the floor of the House of Commons — bringing Carney’s Liberals even closer to a majority government.

Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont became the first to abandon the Official Opposition in November, followed a month later by Ontario MP Michael Ma.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused all three of his former caucus members of betraying their voters, noting they ran under the Conservative banner in last spring’s federal election.