Prime Minister Mark Carney and MP Matt Jeneroux meet in Edmonton after Jeneroux crossed the floor to the Liberals on Wednesday.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
“Some of you – and I salute you – have been Liberals your whole life,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said to the crowd at the Liberals’ holiday party in December.
“Others, like me, are new to politics. I’m not a politician.” And then, responding to someone on his right he said: “I am now, yes, you’re right.”
“Some may have just joined our party,” Mr. Carney continued, cocking his head to the side and sporting a cheeky grin. “Like literally, just joined our party.”
The Prime Minister then welcomed Michael Ma, the MP for Markham-Unionville, to the stage. Mr. Ma had been clinking glasses at the Conservatives’ holiday party just 24 hours prior, but now he was onstage with the Prime Minister, raising their hands together in the air.
Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux crosses floor to Liberals
It was a truly diabolical move: ruthless, dirty, but of course permissible. Floor-crossings happen, but this was something different. Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont had crossed the floor to the Liberals just one month prior. A few days after that, Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux said he would be resigning from Parliament. And now Mr. Ma was joining the Liberals, the day after celebrating the holidays with his Conservative colleagues. The non-politician Prime Minister was pulling off some formidable political moves.
This week, Mr. Jeneroux announced that he would not, in fact, be resigning, and would instead be joining the Liberal caucus, too. The news wasn’t altogether surprising; rumours were circulating back in November that the Edmonton MP was planning to cross the floor, but that plan ended up getting derailed. Mr. Jeneroux said Wednesday that Mr. Carney’s Davos speech in January compelled him to reconsider his decision to leave politics, but we know there was more happening behind the scenes than just a doe-eyed MP being inspired by his Prime Minister. Along with a new seat on the Liberals’ bench, Mr. Jeneroux has been named “special adviser on economic and security partnerships.”
At the time of writing, Mr. Carney has managed to seduce three floor-crossers (though few will be surprised if that becomes four, or five) to join the Liberals less than a year after the last election. While Mr. Ma is a political rookie, which might explain why his connection to the Conservatives would be tenuous, both Mr. d’Entremont and Mr. Jeneroux have been Conservatives for years. Yet Mr. Carney managed to abruptly sever their loyalty.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Alberta MP Matt Jeneroux in Edmonton to welcome him into the governing Liberal caucus. Jeneroux left the Conservatives, saying he wanted to support Carney's 'ambitious agenda' following Carney's recent speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The Canadian Press
He’s also made mincemeat of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s approval numbers (the contrast between who Canadians view as the better leader is striking), stolen many of his platform policies and positions (he axed the carbon tax immediately after becoming Prime Minister, he’s promised action on bail reform, and he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Alberta’s Premier), and even enticed the deputy leader of Ontario’s NDP, Doly Begum, to resign her seat and run for the federal Liberals in the upcoming by-election in Scarborough Southwest. That’s all pretty impressive for a guy who claims no political chops.
Mr. Carney’s appeal when he first ran to run the Liberal Party, and then the country, was that he seemed like a no-nonsense technocrat: a guy who you wouldn’t necessarily want to have a beer with, but who you’d trust to try to get the country back on track. Since then, he’s demonstrated that he’d actually be good company at a hockey game – he’s quick-witted, charming, and exudes competence – but that his deliverables need some work. Indeed, Mr. Carney has made several big announcements for future plans, but he hasn’t actually delivered a whole lot, nor has he made any major politically unpopular decisions in service to Canada’s economy (like reining in Old Age Security, for example). His first budget included $141-billion in new spending over the next five years, which is not the type of thing you’d expect from a stodgy central banker with a mandate to get Canada’s economy back on track. It is, however, the type of thing you’d expect from a politician.
What we’ve learned from Mr. Carney over the past year is that this political neophyte in fact has some serious political chops. And those chops seem destined to deliver him his majority, either through more floor-crossings or another election. Perhaps if and when Mr. Carney has full control of the House, Canadians will see him act on his more technocratic, less politically minded impulses. But for now, the Carney machine appears to be operating largely in service to the Liberal one – to much success. You’d never guess Mr. Carney hasn’t done this before.